Shining Stars
by Mal Masque
Summary: After a chance encounter with an assassin, Star Butterfly is thrown into a wild and bizarre madcap adventure as she finds her very life targeted by an ancient and powerful vampire. Now part of a secret para-military Team, can Star and her newfound and unusual group of friends face off against a Legion of evil? (All Characters named belong to their respective owners)
1. Prologue

_**Shining Stars**_

 **Prologue:**

 _ **Multiverse of Possibility**_

* * *

In the great infinite expanse known as the Multiverse, there is an unimaginable number of universes, each with their own various laws and rules that govern how they operate. There are those that are rife with magic, granting its denizens with powers that allow them to command the laws of nature. There are many that are ruled by science and innovation, with machines that can range from simple household aids to planetary conquering weapons of mass destruction. Some hold host to gods that walk among mankind. Some allow people to control their very spirits themselves to create things of unimaginable power. The possibilities are always endless within the Multiverse and the countless individual realms that lay within.

It's always interesting when different realities are merged as one.

Due to the infinite number of possibilities within the Multiverse, there's always a probability that certain universes are going to share similar traits from time to time. Occasionally the same person might exist in different universes, or a similar invention is discovered in a parallel reality, or a pair of identical spells are cast in completely different realms. Anything is possible, but there is a one-in-a-million chance that a universe will have an absurd number of similarities, borrowing from a multitude of other worlds to the point that it nearly has a bit of everything, creating a melting pot of epic proportions. This collection of aspects from various worlds is known as a Dimensional Fusion, an incredibly large realm that feeds off of other worlds to create more and more for itself to expand and grow in size until it rivals an Original World in its sheer mass and depth.

As beautiful as this cosmic creation is, the Dimensional Fusion is naught without peril. As with the laws of reality and stability, Dimensional Fusions are obliged to follow the same laws as the rest of the Multiverse and obey the Four Laws: Good, Evil, Chaos and Order. The Law of Good, which dictates that people are inclined to follow the moral path of light and ensure peace and kindness. The Law of Evil, which dictates that people are inclined to follow the moral path of darkness to create a realm of selfishness and hated. The Law of Chaos, which incites that catastrophe and disarray can occur at any instance, be it simple change or total destruction. And the Law of Order, which incites that balance will always be around the corner, but can also lead to dominance and control. The Dimensional Fusion must follow these Four Laws, same as the rest of the Multiverse, lest the balance of reality shift and spiral out of control.

But… You don't seem like the type to listen to a boring lesson on stability of the Multiverse, do you? No, you're here to read a story, no doubt. Well, I can provide you with a story. A story of good and evil. Of order and chaos. Of magic and science. Of love and hate. Of the shining stars in the sky and the darkness down below.

And our story begins with a girl waking up in her bed on a lazy midsummer day….

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Long time no see, eh? Yeah, it's been a while since I've last updated, I know. Well, I've got good news and bad news for you all. The good news is I've finally returned to writing once more, and I'm bringing it all back with a brand new Mega-Crossover Story that I hope you'll all enjoy! The bad news is... regarding the various other stories I have written. As many of you know, I used to be part of a large Writer's Guild that worked collaboratively on the many stories written here. "Project FREAK", "IDA Ultimate Tournament", "Pimpin' Peace & Perversion", stories like that. Unfortunately, with the disbanding of the Writer's Guild, I've been left with trying to recapture the magic and majesty of the stories... To no avail. So, I'm sad to say, until further notice, those stories are very unlikely going to be continues for the time being. I'm sorry, but if I tried to force anything, it'd end up as nothing but a shallow shell of what they once were... But at least you have this new story to check out. So anyways, take care and enjoy!_

 _~Mal Masque_


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

 _ **"Good Morning Echo Creek"**_

* * *

Like every standard morning, it begins with the tell-all obnoxious sound of an alarm clock blaring in your ear as you sleep, rousing you from the wondrous dream world where you are no doubt swimming through a river of thick pudding whilst dressed as the King of Spain. The sound, like a whining siren wailing on and on, never ceasing until the small, easy-to-miss button is somehow hit and NOT the snooze button. However, unlike normal people, this current alarm clock seemed to forget its latest victim had a magic wand that fired sparkly rainbow beams. With the obnoxious alarm clock reduced to nothing more than a smashed scrap heap stuck in a burn-mark, the morning can officially begin. With a tremendous yawn, a young girl awakens from her canopy bed, rubbing the sleep from her sapphire blue eyes before a beaming smile encompasses her face.

"MORNING!" Cheered the newly awakened girl to no one in particular. Hopping out of her bed with vigor and zeal, her long and fluffy blonde hair flapping in the breeze as she slid into her bathroom on her socks like a pair of cotton ice-skates. Brushing her smiling teeth with vim, the girl went through her various morning rituals (the brushing, the cleaning, the bathing, and all that jazz), before sprinting back out and into her walk-in closet. "No, no, no, no, not that…" The girl muttered to herself as she tossed numerous articles of clothing haphazardly about trying to find the perfect outfit to tackle the day. After several minutes of rummaging (and turning her bedroom into a mountain range of clothing), she emerged, still bearing that joyous smile on her face as she did one last run-through in the mirror. Mint dress with lace cuffs and lining? Check. Purple and orange striped leggings snuggly fit in her purple knee-high boots? Check. Devil-horn headband keeping her hair straight? Absolutely check! Smiling cartoon star purse slung over her shoulder? You'd better believe check right there. She was ready. And with the summer sky looking void of clouds and the sun shining brilliantly upon the town, today was looking to be a perfect day.

"Star! Breakfast!" Called a young man's voice from downstairs. Star, our heroine for this tale, smiled once more.

"Coming!" Star loudly replied. She kicked open her door and ran down the hall, ready to start the day with her bestest friend in the world. Rounding corners and giddily running down the hall, she reached the stairway, poking her head out from above, still bearing that smile. "Morning Marco!" Standing at the edge of the stairs, sporting his usual attire of a red hoodie, blue jeans, and a pair of standard black sneakers, was a Hispanic young man with brown hair and a small smirk on his mouth, somewhat mirroring Star's own.

"Wow, someone seems excited today." Marco said, chuckling a bit at Star's incredible enthusiasm. He held two bowls of cereal in each hand, one of which was snatched out of Marco's hands. The thief in question just skipped over to the couch and giggled.

"Of course I'm excited, Marco." Star said, swirling her spoon about in her cereal bowl. "It's the first week of summer! How could I NOT be excited!" She took a loud and noisy slurp from her spoon. "It's the big beginning of three months of fun in the sun! You, me, our friends, just relaxing and not having to worry about ANYTHING!" Marco sat down next to her, her jubilant attitude like an infectious plague as he finds himself smiling, too.

"Yeah, I can't wait too." Marco said, slouching back into the soft cushions with look of bliss on his face. "After this crazy year, we need to relax." He idly picked up the TV Remote and turned on the TV with a push of a button. Unfortunately, the first thing to appear was a boring news report.

"- Recent appearance of this company's movement in Echo Creek has caused a stir amongst smaller corporations, yet is bringing with it an economic boom." The newscaster said, shuffling his papers about in his hands. "For those of you just joining in, the infamous business tycoon and law firm 'Mammoth Corporation' has been purchasing various small business and factories across Echo Creek, along with most other practices across the Southern California area." The aforementioned logo for the odd new company, of a large whale wearing red devil horns, appeared next to the newscaster's head. "When reached for comment, the CEO of Mammoth Corp, who only introduced himself as 'Mr. Monstroso', had this to say." The newscaster cleared his throat as the image was replaced with a photograph of an intimidating and muscular man with dark red hair and a pointed black beard. "'Mammoth Corp. has been expanding from its East Coast Offices to the Pacific as part of a business partnership with the Darklight Information Offices, and seek to bring more of an economic boom for the people of this fair city.'"

Star groaned loudly, throwing her head back over the couch. "Marco, change the channel, this is BORING!" Marco nodded and skipped to the next channel, which happened to be another news report.

"- Another unusual attack today," The new newscaster said. "And in similar pattern to the previous victims, they appear to have been shot in a vital area of the body." The image next to the newscaster displayed several people loading up an injured man into an ambulance. Star and Marco looked a bit queasy at seeing the gaping hole in the victim's neck. "Forensics have yet to determine the actual weapon responsible for these attacks, but common theory is that they have been shot with an arrow of all things. Police are urging that -"

"Next channel!" Star quickly said. Marco happily obliged and switched the channel again… To the history channel, doing an overview on old residences in Great Britain.

"- Burned down in the early 1880s as an attempted case of fratricide." The show host said, walking about the rubble of the old burned building. "When first excavated, it was said to have belonged to the philanthropist noble family known as the Joestar Family. Very little remains of their legacy or even the history the family had prior to their disappearance from the public eye, but rumors persist that the surviving family members have gone into hiding, or have simply vanished. We may never know what transpired here nearly two-hundred years ago, but these ruins may still teach us -" Star quickly finished off her bowl of cereal and hopped off the couch.

"BOOOORING!" Star moaned. "Why is there nothing GOOD on TV today?!" Marco simply shrugged and continued eating his breakfast. "I think I'm gonna go on a walk for a bit, I dunno." While Star checked her purse, Marco gave her a slight look of concern.

"Are you sure you want to go out right now?" Marco asked. "I mean… you saw that report on the news about people getting attacked by some crazy guy with an arrow." Star playfully blew a raspberry and skipped over to the front door.

"Relax Marco, I'll be FIIINE!" Star said, her smile returning once more. "I've fought all kinds of monsters before, some guy with an arrow won't hurt me. Besides," Star reached into her purse and waved her wand about. "I've got my wand to back me up. I'll be back in a bit!" Star gleefully skipped out the door, despite Marco's earlier protests. He eventually gave in and just resumed watching the history show, a bored look encompassing his face as he shoveled another spoonful of milk and cereal into his mouth.

"She'll probably be fine." Marco idly said. "She's Star Butterfly, one of the coolest people I know. She'll totally be fine." While Star wandered off and Marco continued to enjoy his cereal and mind-numbing historical show, the day was shaping out to certainly be a very pleasant and interesting endeavor.

* * *

 _Author's Note: And here we have two of our main protagonists: Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz, from the Disney XD animated series 'Star Vs. The Forces of Evil'. I've found myself really enjoying this semi-lighthearted series, and would gladly give a recommendation. And I'm certain several of you noticed the references scattered about this chapter. Good luck figuring them out and how they all tie in to the story! Once more, I hope you enjoy this read, and take care!_

 _~Mal Masque_


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

 ** _"Pentatonic Predator"_**

* * *

Star's walk was a simple one, just her happily skipping down the streets of Echo Creek. The bright sun shining down on her face, the gentle summer breeze blowing against her face, and the joyful singing of birds in flight, it was wonderful. Star even paused to wave at random strangers on her path, many who waved back with matching smiles on their faces, while others just simply shrugged and moved on. It truly was a great summer day for everyone to enjoy themselves, with fun in the sun and the great summer air. If her mood wasn't already at an incredible high, Star's joy would be skyrocketing at just how perfect the day was.

Her own walk eventually brought herself to the local park, where she was pleasantly caught off guard by the sound of music. It was an idle sound, someone plucking a few notes on a guitar and playing a simple tune. Curiously drawn towards the melody, Star idly skipped along the path until she found the source of the delightful song. A lonesome old man, with a tanned bronze-skin and wispy white hair, sat alone on a bench, playing a simple tune on his old yet finely worn acoustic guitar. The man seemed like a distinguished traveler, wearing a simple leather vest with puffy white sleeves, matching leather pants, and worn black shoes. His aged face bore a simple smile underneath his white curled mustache, a genuine sense of content shining through his tired brown eyes. Star found herself get drawn closer to the old man as he played his music, the simple song seeming to draw Star in as he idly played, like the welcoming embrace of a soft chair in front of an open fireplace in an autumn evening. The old man looked up and noticed Star, not once stopping his music as he continued to play, but instead offering Star a friendly and welcoming smile. Star returned the smile with a giggle and polite bow, swaying her hips side to side in tune with the music. Seeing the audience he now had, the old man chuckled and began to increase the tempo of the song, his fingers dancing across the guitar's strings. Seeing the shift in speed as a friendly challenge, Star decided to fully give in and began idly dancing to the song, spinning about in circles with her arms raised, a splendid smile appearing on her heart-adorned cheeks. The music and the dance continued to get faster and faster, more frantic and melodic as the two continued their own contributions, with the old man's fingers speedily strafing along the strings and Star rapidly swaying and swinging with reckless abandon and pure joy on her face. After the song concluded, Star ceased her dancing, panting heavily and sweating up a storm. The sound of clapping broke through the park's atmosphere, as apparently Star and the old man had garnered a bit of an audience with various patrons of the park. After glancing at each other with slightly confused shrugs, the old man stood up and politely bowed to the crowd, a gesture that Star followed through on as well.

"Thank ya, thank ya." The old man said in a harsh yet wizened tone, one filled with grit and experience. The crowd dispersed and once more, Star and the old man were left to their lonesome. "I gotta say, little lady, you've got some very impressive dancing skills to keep up with my strings."

"Thanks!" Star said, beaming brightly. "Hey, you're really good! How do you play like that?" The old man chuckled and set his guitar next to the stuffed pack that rested by his feet.

"Years of experience and traveling the long and lonesome road we call life." The old man simply said. "Ya learn plenty of tricks out in the open, ya just never know what will come to ya when ya take a left turn or a right." Star simply nodded along, not understanding the metaphor in the slightest. The old man strapped his guitar to his bag and stretched. "Well, I must be on my way. These old bones of mine still have places to go and plenty of things to see." The old man gave a two-finger salute to Star, a smile burrowing itself under his mustache. "You have a pleasant day now, young miss."

"Bye! Thanks for the music!" Star cheerfully said, waving frantically farewell as the old man walked off, simply becoming a glimpse off in the distance in the summer day. Star smiled and found herself humming the melody to herself. _Catchy song._ Star thought to herself as she sat down on the bench. Everything was nice and relaxing, and it was great. Her relaxation was interrupted, surprisingly, by the sound of her phone ringing. Star reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, recognizing Marco's name on the caller ID. She held the phone up to her ear and answered. "Hey Marco!"

"Well, how-dee-doo, baby-cakes." Said a voice that was DEFINITELY not Marco that made Star's eyes go very wide in surprise. The voice had a very nasally, smarmy and almost haughty kind of voice, yet also carried a strange musical yet metallic ring to it. "Glad you finally picked up your phone, I was getting bored waiting around for you to show."

"Who… who is this?" Star asked, narrowing her eyes and trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

"Who me? Oh, I'm just the guy holding your BF here hostage." The voice said. Star gasped in surprise. "Ah, great, that's the reaction I was goin' for! Totally nailed it, babe. Just to add some more insult to in-ju-ry, baby…" The sound of rustling was heard, accompanied by the sound of the mysterious voice… singing in scat for some odd reason. "Hey Diaz-babe! You're on line one!"

"Star! Star!" Marco called out, sounding frantic and terrified.

"MARCO!" Star exclaimed, gripping her phone tightly. "Don't worry, Marco, I'm gonna come and save you!" Marco was about to say something, but the crook responsible for taking Marco pulled the phone away with a snide laugh.

"Oooh, wow, a damsel in distress situation in reverse!" The voice said. "It's obvious who wears the pants in THIS relationship, am I right, babe? OOH!" Star grit her teeth, her face growing red hot in pure rage at the mere sound of this guy's voice. "Wow, I can practically FEEL your anger all the way here at the construction site! Oh, yeah, that's where we are. I got your boyfriend stuck up to his butt in concrete cement, if you want to get him."

"I'm gonna make you sorry for this, you hear me?!" Star said with conviction and anger.

"Oh, wow, ole Scaramouche is trembling in his boots at being threatened by a prissy princess over the phone." The newly identified voice sarcastically said. "Listen good, baby-cakes: If you don't show at the Mammoth Corp. Executive Office construction site with that dinky little wand of yours pah-ronto before sundown, I'm gonna make sure Diaz here will be singin' the angelic choir. TTYL, babe!" Scaramouche hung up the call, leaving Star with the sound of his obnoxious and insulting voice ringing about in her ears. This wasn't like any of the monster attacks before where they went straight after her. This guy, Scaramouche, played dirty and targeted her best friend. Star turned her head towards the unfinished skyscraper looming off the distance with a fiery determination in her eyes.

"I'm coming, Marco…" Star muttered to herself, sprinting towards the construction site with wand in hand and fire in her eyes. "I'm coming…"

* * *

 _ **Two hours earlier...**_

Marco was idly staring at the microwave as it worked away at melting the shredded cheese on his nacho chips, while the TV was playing a documentary about the longest horse-race in the history of the United States.

"The Steel Ball Run, while also known for its length across the entire USA," The documenter on the TV said. "It was also known for its hostility and brutality. Hundreds of riders entered to compete in this cross-country race, but many lost their lives before the race's completion." The microwave beeped and Marco smiled, opening the door and pulling the bowl of nachos out. "From weather climate, to wild animals, to inhospitable terrain, to even fellow racers, many a man and horse met their end on this dangerous road." Marco sat back down on the couch, resting the bowl of nachos on his lap as he idly ate and watched the show, occasionally wincing at the grizzly images of the various racers.

"Man, people in the late 1800s dressed weird." Marco commented through a mouthful of chips. "I mean… who wears a horse-shoe on their forehead anyway?" After a while of watching the documentary, the doorbell rang, oddly in a sequence like song notes like how the person at the door was pressing it. "I got it!" Marco said to no one, setting his bowl on the end table. He hopped to his feet, walked over and opened the door. "Hello…?" His voice trailed off once he saw the person at the door. Unusual… couldn't even BEGIN to describe what he was looking at.

The visitor at the door wore a large purple trench coat that went down past their knees, covering naught but a pair of dark-red high-heeled cowboy boots. A black rice hat partially obscured the visitor's bright blue eyes, and an orange twin-tassel scarf fluttered in the breeze around his neck. What stood out for Marco was not the sword resting sheathed to the stranger's back, nor the dagger clipped to the big black belt looping around his waist, but it was the fact the visitor was a robot who stood at nearly eight-feet tall.

"Goooooood mornin', little man!" The robot said with great enthusiasm in his synthesized voice, almost carrying a melodic tone to it. "Lovely day we're having, ain't it?" He leaned down and smiled widely.

"Um… Yeah?" Marco slowly said, trying to figure out what the heck he was looking at. "Can I, uh… help you?" The robot laughed haughtily in response.

"The kid's askin' if he could help me, heh heh." The robot said, calming down from his laughter. "Well, actually, yeah you can, babe. Mind if I come on in? My dogs are barkin' like crazy. Woof woof." He lifted his leg and shook his foot for emphasis, adding a few laughs as well.

"Uh…" Marco was about to respond, but the robot did not wait for a proper answer and just shoved Marco aside, entering the house.

"Thanks a mil', babe." The robot said, walking about the house. "Ooh, are those nachos I smell?" He quickly snatched up the bowl of nachos and began noisily eating the chips. "Mmm, this is some quality nacho cheese chips, babe." Marco cautiously watched the robot eating his chips, carefully inching his way towards him with a wary look upon his face.

"Okay, um, sir?" Marco called a bit.

"No need for the 'sir' thing, kiddo." The robot said through a mouthful of chips. "Makes me sound like an old bucket 'o bolts. Scaramouche will do much better, babe." Marco just nodded while the robot, now dubbed Scaramouche, continued to eat his chips.

"Scaramouche, huh?" Marco asked in a flat tone. The robot finished up the bowl and tossed it to Marco, not giving so much of a thank you in response. "Rude." Scaramouche began idly walking around the house, opening cabinets, peeking in rooms and even overturning furniture. "Hey, uh, what the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Lookin' around, babe, what else?" Scaramouche snidely replied, slamming a closet door shut. "Tryin' to find this girl."

"A… girl?" Marco warily asked, already getting a feel for how bad things were going to get.

"Yeah, a girl." Scaramouche restated. "Big fluffy blonde hair, hearts on her cheeks, sweet as super-sugar and twice as energetic, has a magic wand that can do almost anything, tiny little wings…" He came across a photograph pinned to the fridge of Star and Marco having fun at the beach. "Oh, bin-GO! That's the Butterfly I'm lookin' for!" Marco started cautiously backing towards the door, ready to run and get Star. This guy didn't just scream 'bad news', he was a full-on orchestra for it.

"Hey now, what's that scared look for, babe?" The robot turned towards Marco with a sinister mechanical grin.

"N-nothing, M-m-Mister Scaramouche." Marco shakily said, the robot taking closer and closer steps to him. "I was just gonna-gonna-gonna… Go out for a walk! Eh heh heh…"

"A walk, huh babe?" Scaramouche tauntingly said, his hand reaching into one of the many pockets within his large overcoat. "Well, maybe you and me can go out for a walk to meet up with your gal-pal." He slowly pulled out a fancy-looking elegant flute, raising it to his mechanical lips. "Get this duet into a trio…" Marco just gulped with fear as the shadow of the mysterious robot overtook him…

* * *

 _ **Two Hours and Fifteen Minutes After That…**_

"I'm almost there, Marco!" Star urged herself onward as she sprinted down the sidewalk, darting between idle pedestrians making their way as the looming and imposing skeletal frame of the unfinished Mammoth Corps. Building towered greatly over her. Her best friend was somewhere in there, in the clutches of whoever this 'Scaramouche' guy was, probably terrified for his life! Well, while Star Butterfly still draws breath, she'll always be there to help her friends in need, no matter what the cost. She arrived at the partially cemented over walls of the building, deftly climbing over the chain link fence and into the unfinished building proper. Looking around, the bare girders and spacious walls cast haunting and unnerving shadows down upon the ground as the sun reached its zenith. At the far end of the room, Star spotted Marco, his lower half encased in an enormous brick of cement. He looked battered, barely conscious, it was painful to even look at.

"MARCO!" Star cried out, about to sprint full force to free her friend, but a high and shrill note pierced through the air like a bullet, stopping Star dead in her tracks. Stepping out from one of the steel pylons like a robotic reaper of rhythm came Scaramouche, drawing the flute away from his mechanical lips and shooting a snide look at Star with his bright blue eyes.

"Princess Star Butterfly!" Scaramouche called out, his smug voice already getting on Star's nerves just from the mere _sound_ of his mouth opening. "About time you showed up, baby-cakes. I thought I was gonna have to teach yer boyfriend how to sing 'Sweet Caroline' through a solid foot of concrete." Star grit her teeth and took a step forward, but Scaramouche held up a single hand. "Hold it there, babe, if you get any closer to center stage, I'll give him a quick liquid rock bath." Upon closer inspection, Star saw that Scaramouche held a remote control in his hand, no telling what it led to.

"Alright, okay…" Star steadily said, backing off with an angry look in her eyes. "Now what do you want, creep?"

"I'm a busy bot, babe, so I'll keep this short and sweet." Scaramouche said, pocketing the remote. "That wand of yours is worth a whole lotta green, and my employer has paid me in advance to get it back for him."

"Well, tell your boss, Ludo, that he can keep on dreaming that he's gonna get THIS!" Star proudly said, holding out her wand for the robot to see. Scaramouche, instead of being intimidated or annoyed like Star expected him to be, just burst into loud and obnoxious laughter, doubling over in a hysterical fit.

"Oh MAN, BABE!" Scaramouche laughed, wiping nonexistent tears away from his eyes. "If you weren't already a magic girl princess, I'da think you were destined for comedy! Oh, that is a RIOT, BABE!" Star folded her arms across her chest in irritation, waiting for Scaramouche to stop his belligerent laughter. It went on… for about five solid minutes until Scaramouche finally calmed down. "Okay… okay… time to get your facts straight, babe." He cracked his mechanical neck a bit. "First off, that wand of yours is probably the gaudiest thing I ever did see, babe. I mean, bargain day at little fairy girls section at the K-Mart kinda gaudy. But hey, you do you, babe."

"Hey!" Star snapped, furrowing his brow. "This wand is the coolest thing ever! It can shoot rainbow narwhals and warnicorn stampedes! Plus it looks better than that ridiculous getup YOU got on."

"Ex-CUSE me?" Scaramouche said, sounding a little bit offended. He pulled at the purple fabric of his extraordinary-looking overcoat. "This, this right here, babe? This is GENUINE Imakandi wool, paid a fortune to get this thing. And like you look any better with that dorky devil-horn headband you've got on." Scaramouche started mockingly prancing about in a circle, giving an extremely poorly done impression of Star herself. "'Oh, lookit me, I'm Star Butterfly, I'm wearin' devil horns to give me this ironic bad-girl look that makes people think I'm a trouble-maker, ooh, I'm so clever.' Seriously, you callin' _me_ ridiculous? Look in a mirror, babe." Star's face was a bright red, completely flushed in embarrassment and humiliation. "And the big number two, babe, I don't work for a small-fry like Ludo."

"Wait, what?" Star said, her earlier embarrassment quickly making way for confusion.

"But that ain't an important detail right now, babe." Scaramouche said, smirking darkly. "So we're either gonna do this two ways: You kick over the wand, I let your boy go free with a few pebbles in his pants, _OR…_ " He reached back into his coat. "We duke it out, womano-a-roboto. Your call, babe." Star bit her lip nervously, eyes darting back and forth between the prone Marco and the mysterious and menacing robot, standing there with the sinister look on his metal face. He was clearly different than the monsters that came from Mewni, Star had no idea what to expect from him. However, this guy hurt Marco just to get to her. Not again. Not after what happened with Toffee in Ludo's old castle. Never again. Her eyes went from displaying fear and concern to fire and steely determination, her legs shifting about in a combat stance as she aimed her wand at Scaramouche.

"Bring it." Star said, a smug look appearing on her face in an attempt to mirror the robot's own. Scaramouche simply smirked, removing his flute from his coat and bringing it up to his metallic lips, his robotic eyes flashing in the menacing shadows beneath his hat.

"Showtime."

* * *

 _Author's Note: Ah... I love Scaramouche so much. This introductory villain to Samurai Jack's 5th Season was a perfect way to open up the show and has left a MASSIVE impact upon me as a viewer and fan of the series. So anyway, Star's gonna fight Scaramouche. This'll be fun. Have you guessed the identity of the mysterious old man? Good luck figuring it out. Look forward to the epic battle that will occur in the next chapter and enjoy!_

 _~Mal Masque_


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

 _ **"Tonal Terror"**_

* * *

"Let's dance, babe." Scaramouche taunted. Star grit her teeth and raised her wand overhead, a baby-blue aura shining from the light as she charged it with her innate magics.

"NARWHAL BLAST!" Star proclaimed, aiming her wand at the pentatonic robot. A bright beam shot forth from her wand, jetting forth an angry-looking blue narwhal as its horn was trained directly on Scaramouche. The robot simply bent backwards and dodged with ease and surprising flexibility.

"Oooh, so close yet so far, babe!" Scaramouche teased, his flute still hovering centimeters away from his mechanical lips. Star growled and fired another blast of her marine-based magic at Scaramouche, only to be effortlessly avoided again. Again and again, she fired bursts of magic, demolishing portions of the ground and kicking up stones while Scaramouche just effortlessly danced between them. "You ain't got the skills to beat me, but I've got the groovy tunes that'll rock your world." Finally, the robotic assassin put the flute to his mechanical lips and started playing a jazzy and jaunty tune. If Star weren't in the middle of a fight with the musician, she probably would have admitted to it sounding catchy and tapped her foot to the tune. She suddenly took notice that the stones and debris from her earlier assault had started moving, shifting about on the ground and concrete. The debris began to slide together towards a singular mass, lumping together and taking shape into an enormous humanoid construct with an angry stone face appearing on the rubble-like head.

"That's… bad." Star noted, her pupils shrinking to tiny dots as the golem loomed over her with fists of stone. "Time to break out that new spell…" She twirled her wand in her fingers, shifting her stance once more to one similar of a knight ready to draw a blade from its hilt. "Radiant Rainbow RAPIER!" She swung her wand once more as it began to glow a myriad of colors. A beam of light shot forth, reaching nearly four-feet in length before honing to a fine point and becoming a semi-solid mass of rainbow. Star looked at her wand, now turned into a magical sword, and smirked at the still-playing Scaramouche and the stone golem. Magic blade in hand, Star leapt off the ground and swung her sword at the golem, slicing its rebar arm completely off its shoulder. Scaramouche looked faintly surprised, but still kept his musical groove going as the flute guided the golem to further attack the Mewman princess. It swung its stony fist at Star, missing the girl by a foot as she swiftly dodged and slashed at its other arm and cleaving off one of its legs. The golem wobbled a bit, trying to regain balance, while Scaramouche's flute-playing intensified as more rubble and rebar made its way to reinforce his living weapon.

Soon, the golem was once more fully ready for battle, taking another swing at Star with a hand made of sharp iron rods and mounds of dirt. Star barely managed to dodge, getting herself a nasty cut from a stray piece of metal along her shoulder. She winced and placed a hand on her partially bleeding arm, glaring at the golem as she dealt another attack, hacking off a chunk of its stony torso. It raised its foot to crush Star, but she easily dodged the attack and damaged its leg with a pair of quick slashes. Again and again, Star hacked away at the golem, only for it to be restored once more by whatever other debris and rock lay about. Star was starting to get exhausted, already covered in scrapes and bruises from other assaults, but the golem wouldn't let up. There was only one way to put a stop to the thing was to take out the object that controlled it: The flute.

Swiftling dodging another attack from the golem, Star diverted her attention away from the monstrosity and sprinted towards Scaramouche, her wand still glowing with the rainbow blade. The robotic assassin knew Star would probably resort to this once she developed the brain cells to think it, so he kept his playing up while still sporting that same smug grin on his face. She swung her blade at Scaramouche, who easily dodged it while still keeping the rhythm going.

"STAY! STILL! AND! LET! ME! CUT! YOU!" Star shouted between every swing of her blade. Scaramouche just idly bobbed and weaved between the attacks, his musical melody continuously taunting Star as her attacks fruitlessly failed to connect. All the while, the golem loomed over the two, ready to destroy Star Butterfly and appease its musically inclined maker. Which was exactly what Star was planning. Continuing to push Scaramouche on the defensive, she kept swinging her sword about in an attempt to hit either him or his accursed flute, all while the robotic assassin just kept dodging and playing his jazzy tunes. Eventually, she was in position, just as planned. The golem swung a fist at Star from behind her, but fortunately she dodged out of the way so the attack was heading towards Scaramouche instead! She quickly scrambled to her feet as the golem slammed its fist into the ground, knocking Scaramouche off balance.

"WOAH, HANG ON A TICK!" Scaramouche exclaimed, pulling his flute away from his lips and backing off from the golem's attack. The opening came.

"Cutsie Crescent CUTTER!" Star cast another spell, deactivating her rainbow sword and swinging her wand about in a downward arc, unleashing a sharp curve of magic that rocketed towards Scaramouche. He saw the attack coming and nimbly dodged. He turned to Star with a mocking grin.

"Wow, babe, you couldn't hit water if you fell out a dang boat." The robot chided. Star returned the look with a smug glance of her own.

"Wasn't aiming for you, bolt-brains." She said, pointing at Scaramouche's hand. The robot looked down and saw that his flute had been completely cut in half, completely destroyed and unusable. With no means of controlling the rocks and steel, the golem broke apart and fell pieces in an enormous heap of rubble and rebar. Scaramouche stared at the pile dejectedly, more annoyed than anything.

"Oh, drat." He huffed. Star twirled her wand and smirked proudly.

"Not so tough without that magic flute of yours, huh?" Star teased. Scaramouche's blue mechanical eyes flashed a bit, before his prior smug grin returned. The robot reached behind his back and unsheathed an enormous curved scimitar sword that looked difficult to wield even with _two_ hands. "Radiant Rainbow Rapier!" Star activated her sword spell again and charged at Scaramouche. Surprisingly, the robot didn't charge at her, but rather spun about and _threw_ his sword like a discus at her. Star gasped and quickly ducked to avoid the sword coming at her, power-sliding as it flew overhead and stuck itself in a steel pyon. As she got to her feet, she winced at the scrapes she now had from such a move… and was surprised to see Scaramouche was gone.

"Up here, baby-cakes!" Scaramouche called out. Star looked up and saw the robotic assassin lounging about on the unfinished rafters of the second floor, looking smug as usual. "You might've destroyed my magic flute, but you'll never break the magnificence that is ME, BABE!"

"Come back down here!" Star shouted, glaring daggers at Scaramouche from down below. "You just threw your sword at me, so that makes you disarmed!" Scaramouche just laughed and dusted off one of his sleeves.

"Au contraire, babe." Scaramouche snidely said. And what did next was… slightly baffling. " _Bah-dee-dah-dee-dee-dah, doo-dee-doh-doo~_ " The robot started singing loudly in scat, and not half-badly either. Star stared at the singing robot with confusion, unaware that the previously discarded sword was starting to pry itself loose from the pylon. A low moaning was heard as Marco finally began to awaken from his forced slumber, blearily looking around and trying to get his bearings. His vision came into focus, and he saw Star battered from her previous battle and the blade pulling itself loose and floating of its own volition.

"STAR, LOOK OUT!" Marco shouted. Star turned her head in surprise to hear Marco's voice, which immediately saved her from a close-shave attack from the blade. Scaramouche kept on scat-singing, the Singing Sword circling around like a hovering top as it swerved back towards Star.

"Uh oh." She said, eyes going wide. She quickly used a spell to give herself another, much lighter sword to help defend herself alongside her magic blade. Scaramouche's sword flung itself at Star, swinging wildly at her as though an invisible reckless swordsman held the blade himself with tremendous strength. Star was quickly overwhelmed by the fury of Scaramouche's Singing Sword, fruitlessly attempting to block the attacks as they came at her. Steel clanged against steel, echoing loudly across the construction site as Star felt herself being constantly pushed back by the sword's flurry of heavy attacks. All the while, Scaramouche just kept singing, feeling confident enough to leave his loft and hop down to the first floor again, stalking towards Star with a malevolent grin. Star eventually shoved the relentless blade away, quickly rolling aside and readying herself once more to attack Scaramouche head on. The robot unclipped the dagger from his belt, twirling the still sheathed blade between his robotic fingers.

"Let's mambo, babe." Scaramouche said, breaking his scatting for a moment to further taunt Star. Star growled and leapt onto her feet, swinging both of her blades, real and magical, at Scaramouche, who easily blocked them with his simple dagger. The Singing Sword swung behind her, forcing her to defend herself with the Wand Sword from one side while attacking Scaramouche with the other. It was truly being caught between a rock and a hard place for Star, being quickly overwhelmed by this double duel in a field of combat she was clearly not used to. The Singing Sword was slow and powerful, while Scaramouche's dagger was quick and agile, and Star was more of a ranged combatant than a girl who fought this up close often. With a sudden and quick flourish, Scaramouche kicked dust up in Star's face, temporarily blinding her as he backflipped away and unsheathed the dagger from its hold. The blade seemed to part down the middle, taking on a strange prong-like form. Once Star got her bearings again, she charged at Scaramouche with a primal war-cry. All Scaramouche did in response was idly side-step and tapped the blade of his dagger with Star's sword, the simple tap ringing out across the unfinished room. Star halted in her tracks, feeling her sword starting to vibrate in her hands as an odd whining noise began to escalate in higher pitched volume. Scaramouche turned about and grinned, displaying his dagger once more. "Dig this groovy sound, babe." Star glanced to her sword in confusion, feeling the vibrations getting stronger and the whining pitch growing higher… before it completely exploded in her hand, the powerful force sending her flying backwards into a steel girder and embedding bits of shrapnel into her skin.

"STAR!" Marco cried out, watching Star slump onto the ground, bleeding tremendously with an extraordinarily pained look on her face. The blast from that strange dagger knocked the wind completely out of her, causing her to drop her wand and cancel the spell. Scaramouche laughed cruelly, sheathing his Tuning Fork Dagger once more and calling forth his Singing Sword to his hand.

"Well, this was fun, kiddo, really was," Scaramouche casually said, striding towards Star as he dragged his sword behind him on the ground. "But, Scaramouche has a job to do, and no way am I upsetting the boss-man for not getting that dinky wand to him." He raised his sword over his head, while Star could only look on in shock. She was actually beaten, she couldn't defeat this guy. He was going to kill her, and probably Marco, and steal the wand for whoever he served. Star sat there in a completely catatonic state, while Scaramouche readied his blade for the execution. "Au revoir, Star-o. That means ' **you're dead, babe!** '" Star and Marco shut their eyes, bracing for what was to come.

 ****BANG!****

At the sound of a powerful gunshot ringing out across the room, Scaramouche yelped in surprise as his Singing Sword was completely knocked out of his hand, sporting a sizeable dent and scorch-mark on it. Star slowly opened her eye, surprised to see that she still drew breath and that someone had come to hers and Marco's aid. The sound of someone clearing their voice, a man both old and wise, echoed a bit, seemingly coming from above. Star, Scaramouche and Marco all looked up… and Star immediately recognized the old man from the park, holding an ornate orange and brown revolver, smoke drifting off the barrel from its recently fired shot.

"Bucket-head, I'm gonna have to ask ya to back down and leave the kids be." The old man said, his voice calm, even, yet carrying a very stern tone. Scaramouche just laughed in response.

"You forget to take your meds today, old timer?" Scaramouche taunted. "Ain't nothin' standing in the way of Scaramouche getting his mark." He idly shooed the old man off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So why don't you run back to the bingo hall in time for the early-bird special, while I take this brat's life story to the cutting room floor?" The old man just furrowed his bushy white brows and aimed his pistol again, taking shot at the ground near Scaramouche's feet. The sudden gunshot caused Star to reflexively cover her ears and made the robot jump a little. "HEY, watch where you're aiming that - where did he go?" The instant Scaramouche looked up, the old man was gone. Even Star and Marco were confused as to the sudden disappearance of the old man, gone completely like a ghost.

"Down here." Said the old man, his voice coming from behind Scaramouche. Just as the robot turned his head, there was a loud whoosh of air, the slicing of metal… and then the sound of sparking wires. The old man stepped away from Scaramouche, clutching a fancy-looking sword with an orange and yellow blade stained slightly with black oil. Star, Marco, and even Scaramouche himself stared in dumbfounded surprise at the sliced-open hole in his chest. Star quickly scrambled to cover as more wires began sparking from Scaramouche's gaping chest wound, knowing from one too many microwave incidents what that meant.

"Doo-deet-doot-doo…" Scaramouche dejectedly scat-sang. "What a showstopper…" In a sudden burst of noise, light and fire, Scaramouche exploded from his extreme damage, demolishing a small area of the construction site while Star took cover behind Marco's concrete prison. When the smoke finally cleared… The head of Scaramouche rolled up to the slab of concrete, a look of shock and regret frozen on his mechanical face as the blue lights in his eyes faded to white. The old man sighed and wiped his blade clean of the oil-stains and walked back over to Star and Marco.

"That takes care of that." The old man said, kneeling down at the two teen's sides. "You two alright?" Star and Marco just stared at the old man with the single-most shocked and broken expressions on their faces.

"That… was amazing." Marco breathlessly said. The old man chuckled slightly and tapped on the cement block Marco's but was trapped in.

"Ah, 'taint nothin', young man." The old man said. "Now, let's get you out of this block here." The old man began rummaging about his backpack, searching for something of use while Star just kept staring.

"You… you're the old man from the park." Star slowly said. "The one who was playing the guitar!" The old man just silently nodded, still searching his bag. "And you just did that thing with the gun and the sword… Who are you?" The old man stopped rummaging and looked back at Star with slightly tired eyes.

"... Who I really am is of no importance." The old man said. "All I can really say is that I'm here to stop a bad man from getting somethin' VERY important…" He finally reached into his bag and produced a small stone-carving hammer. "Ah, here we go. This should do the trick." Star stood back and watched as the old man positioned the hammer on the stone. "Ya might wanna keep still for this, young'un." Marco bit his lip nervously, worried that something might go wrong with the whole 'Getting him out of the block' situation. All three of them took a long and silent breath… and when the old man finally brought his hammer down, the cement block broke in two, freeing Marco and letting him out completely unscathed. He shakily got to his feet and sighed in relief.

"Oooh, that feels nice to stand again." Marco wistfully said. "I had this really bad itch on my knee, too." He bent down and began vigorously scratching his slightly dust-covered knee. Star giggled a bit at Marco's antics, while the old man himself shared a bit of a laugh, stowing his tools away. Star looked back at the mysterious old man, a genuine look of thankfulness entering her eyes when she glanced at him. That Scaramouche guy was pretty tough, and nearly killed her for crying out loud! Not even Toffee was that ruthless and aggressive, and he wanted to destroy her wand! She looked back at Maro, smiling again. At least it was done and over with.

Until the sound of mechanical whirring and beeping broke her from her thoughts.

Star and the old man quickly turned back towards the entrance of the construction site, where Scaramouche's own severed head was starting to hop off like a bunny rabbit, frantically trying to escape.

"HEY!" Star shouted, drawing her wand up again and charging up a spell. Scaramouche yelped in surprise and kept his vigorous hopping, but before Star could cast the spell to finish him off, the old man quickly ran up to the head and snatched it up in his grip, glaring at Scaramouche with a stern expression.

"Alright, Scaramouche," The old man firmly said. "Here's what you're going to do: You're going to tell me what the Legion wants with the Mewman Royalty's Magic Wand, and if I like the answer you give me, I won't take your brain apart and turn your head into my new trash-bucket. We clear on that?" Scaramouche just scoffed in the old man's grip.

"Oh what, is that supposed to be a threat?" Scaramouche retorted in a casual tone. "Rucks, baby, you can do so much better than that. Besides, I'm not revealin' JACK-O to you. So why don't you go down to the pharmacy, buy yourself a nice little bottle of a product called 'Viagra' and use it to go - OW, NOT MY FACE!" The old man, now dubbed Rucks, slammed the robotic head onto the ground, planting it firmly beneath his boot.

"I'm not playin' any games here, Legionnaire." Rucks firmly said. "Tell me now, or I'll make sure your boss won't even have scraps to make a whole new you." Star and Marco just stared at the exchange in confusion. It was like they were players in a completely different story to theirs.

"Umm, here's a better idea." Scaramouche casually replied. "I show you how we robots give you fleshbag humans the hot-foot." Suddenly, at the base of Scaramouche's neck, a rocket flare went off, and sent the severed head flying off into the mid-afternoon sky. Star and Marco rushed to Rucks' side, just catching a glimpse of the rocket trail and hearing one last proclamation from their attacker. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOO, BABE!" And with a twinkle in the sky, he was gone. Rucks furrowed his brow and kicked at the ground.

"Huh?" Marco asked, glancing back to Star, who also bore a perplexed expression. "Who the heck was he talking about?" Star just shrugged. She never heard a name like that before in her life. Rucks grumbled and pulled out a strange communication device from his pocket and held it up to his ear.

"HQ, this is Rucks." He spoke on the call. "... Yeah, I intercepted Scaramouche… Yes, Princess Butterfly is perfectly safe, her friend too…" Rucks began pacing about, while Star and Marco just watched him converse with an unknown superior "Yep, the wand is safe too… No, he got away again… Yes, decapitated him again, the sonuva-gun had jets in his neck this time... No leads yet, chief…" He nodded for a bit, muttering a few 'yeahs' and 'uh-huhs'. "Alright, I'll report in posthaste. Rucks out." He put his communicator away and let off another annoyed sputter. "Walk two steps forward, ya get shoved to steps back." The old man returned to the block to pick up his bag and made his way out of the building, but Star and Marco both snapped out of their confused state and followed after Rucks.

"Wait, wait!" Star called to him. "What was that about? What's going on?!" Rucks didn't stop walking, and seemed to pick up his speed.

"None of your concern, princess." Rucks said. "Take care, and stay safe." And with a single turn down an adjacent street, the old man was gone, even when Star and Marco went to search for him. It was as though he vanished without a trace. Only thing that even marked his sign of ever being there was an odd purple star painted on the ground. Star and Marco slowly turned towards each other, minds abuzz with questions like a hive of extremely confused bees. Who was that old man? Who did he work for? Who did Scaramouche for? What was their connection? Who is 'The Legion'? And most important of all: _Who is Lord DIO?_

* * *

 _Author's Note: WHOO-BOY, this was certainly an ordeal to write! Sorry it took so long, had a bit of work-related stuff that kinda got in the way of progress, but now, here it is! The battle between Star Butterfly and Scaramouche the Merciless. Also, the identity of the old man has been revealed! Don't know him? Well, he is Rucks, the old man and narrator of the critically acclaimed indie game 'Bastion'. Surprise! Well, keep a future eye out for the next upcoming chapter, in which we further investigate the mysteries now brought forth by this altercation. Until next time, readers!_

 _~Mal Masque_


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

" _ **Cursed Questions"**_

* * *

"I just don't get what this was all about!" Star said in frustration, pacing back and forth in her room. After her long-fought and difficult battle with Scaramouche, Star and Marco both returned home with their minds abuzz with questions, regarding both their robotic attacker and their mysterious old savior, Rucks. Star was growing progressively more irritated by the passing minute, while Marco, resting idly on Star's bed, was doing his best to help his friend out.

"Well, that robot said he was after your wand, right?" Marco reasoned. "And he said he didn't work for Ludo, just this… Lord DIO person." For some reason, saying that name felt ominous, like there was some genuine power and weight behind it, despite neither of the two being familiar with anyone of that name or title. "Now are you SURE you don't know anyone by that name? Like a Monster or a Mewman or even someone from another dimension?"

"No, no, I don't know!" Star exclaimed. With a loud and annoyed sigh, she flopped backwards onto her bed next to Marco. "I don't know, Marco. This whole thing is really messing with my head. I don't want this all to end up like another 'Toffee' thing where I underestimated who I was up against. I mean…" She turned over to her side. "That Scaramouche guy… he was REALLY strong. Stronger than other monsters or bad guys I've gone up against. I almost _died_ trying to beat him." She curled up into a ball and hugged her knees, partially burying herself in her long golden hair. "I'm… I'm just scared, Marco." With no other appropriate response on the table, Marco comforted his friend by gently patting her shoulder.

"I was scared too," Marco said. "I mean, the guy barged into the house and stuck me in cement for crying out loud. But you, despite all the fears, still went to try and save me." Star looked up from her hold to see Marco's gentle smile. "You're brave, Star, and if you can take on people like Ludo or Tom or Miss Heinous or even Toffee, you can do anything." Those sweet and encouraging words were exactly what Star needed to hear, giving her the drive to sit up and pull Marco into a hug, which the young man gladly returned.

"Thanks Marco." Star softly said. Marco chuckled and patted Star's back in response until the two eventually broke away from the hug. "OH! IDEA!" Star's eyes lit up in excitement as the often-unused light bulb in her brain finally flickered to life. Sprinting into her closet, Star rummaged about and swiftly returned, holding the enormous leather-bound magic spell book, passed along from her family from generation to generation. Marco slightly frowned as Star rested the book on the floor.

"Star, are you seriously going to ask _him?_ " Marco asked.

"Uh huh." Star said in affirmation. "If anyone knows anything, it's gotta be Glossaryck. Just… get the pudding ready just in case." Marco rolled his eyes with a sigh, hopping off Star's bed and quickly made his way downstairs to get the tribute for the little magical madman that resided in that book. With a loud grunt, Star opened up the heavy book to a random page, and sure enough, she found the magical man she was looking for. Resting idly on a page, watching a tiny TV that seemed to be playing Canadian Soap Operas, was a small, blue humanoid man, sporting a pointy nose and ears, diamond-like pupils in his slightly yellowed eyes, a bald head, a small ruby stuck to his forehead and a long-white beard that partially covered his tan robes.

"Oh, come on, Paulette!" Glossaryck exclaimed in annoyance, glaring at the small TV and jabbing at it with his six-fingered hands. "You shouldn't be with Percy, he's got about as much personality as a wad of DIRT!"

"GLOSSARYCK!" Star loudly called out, causing Glossaryck to jump about eight feet in the air in surprise. Star looked up and saw him float back down with a bemused expression on his face.

"Any reason you decided to bother me while I'm in the middle of watching 'Camp Pining Hearts'?" Glossaryck asked, folding his small arms across his chest. "Honestly, you're lucky it was a re-run."

"Sorry, but it's REALLY important!" Star insisted, noticing Marco enter back into her room with a pudding cup in his hands. "Like… safety of the wand and the WHOLE WORLD important!" Glossaryck just sighed in response.

"Yes, that's certainly the first time I've heard that bit before." Glossaryck sarcastically said. "Although, since I'm in a rush to get back to my stories, I'll humor you." A tiny arm-chair floated up behind Glossaryck, giving him a place to sit down. "So, what's the story?" Marco sat down next to Star as she composed herself, ready to elaborate on the insane events that happened in the past four hours, starting from her first encounter with Rucks, Marco's capture by Scaramouche, her battle and eventual defeat at the hands of Scaramouche, Rucks coming in to saving the day, and the mysteries that then followed.

"... And then they both just… disappeared!" Star concluded with a flourish of her arms. Glossaryck sat and listened to the whole thing, drinking out of a small tea-cup that he retrieved from… somewhere.

"Sounds like one heck of a day." Glossaryck idly said. "So, anyway, did this Scaramouche guy give a name for whoever he worked for? He doesn't sound like the type Ludo or Toffee would even consider using." Star tapped the tip of her chin while Glossaryck took a long sip from his cup.

"I think he said the name was 'Lord DIO'." Star said. Glossaryck's eyes shot wide open, pupils shrinking to mere pricks as he spat out his tea all over Marco with the force of an opened fire-hydrant. The spit-take lasted for about thirty seconds before Glossaryck finished in a coughing fit and Marco was completely drenched, irritated beyond belief. "So, you DO know someone by that name?" Once Glossaryck managed to get himself reoriented, he looked at Star with the single-most serious expression she had ever seen him bear.

"Listen to me very carefully, Star." Glossaryck said in a stern tone. "Do NOT pursue this line of questioning any further. You are digging into some really dark and messy stuff with this. Just drop it." Star rolled her eyes and scoffed, smirking.

"Oh, c'mon." Star said. "You said the same thing about that dark chapter in the spell book, and that turned out fine."

"No, Star, this is actually DEADLY serious." Glossaryck insisted, waggling his finger. "Eclipsa may have been Queen of Darkness, but _him_?" He glanced around for a bit, actually seeming… a bit scared. "I shouldn't even be saying his name… It's a bad sign…"

"What's wrong with saying 'Lord DIO'?" Marco asked. Glossaryck shushed the boy, while Star stood up, a bit angry.

"Well, whoever this Lord DIO guy is, he sent someone to try and kill me and take the wand!" Star said, stamping her foot, despite Glossaryck's protests to get her to stop saying that name. "So, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this DIO mystery and find out who DIO is and what he wants with me! DIO, DIO, DIO, DI - MMMPH!" Star's mouth was covered by Glossaryck's now oversized hand, shutting her up. Star looked at her longtime mentor and was surprised to see genuine fear in his eyes. Even Marco was shocked to know that Glossaryck had _negative_ emotions.

"Please stop saying that name." Glossaryck silently begged. "The more you say that name, the more danger you put yourself in. Now, I'm going to pull my hand away from your mouth, and we're going to drop this subject entirely, okay?" Star slowly nodded in response. Glossaryck's hand shrank back to normal size, and the diminutive magical being started to float back to his book.

"But what am I supposed to do if another assassin shows up, or worse?" Star asked. Glossaryck stood still for a moment, hand clasped on the case of the book, contemplating if it was even safe to divulge this information. He sighed and turned back to Star and Marco.

"I can only offer a single prophesy for you, and hopefully it can do you well." Glossaryck said. He waved his hand a bit, as purple sparkles drifted down from between his fingers. "'Beware he who wears the golden eyes in the dark, but hope will come from six purple stars of the light.' SEE YA!" And with that, Glossaryck slammed the book shut, locked it tight, and the book flew off back into Star's closet. Star and Marco just stared at each other a bit, slightly dejected at not getting any information out of Glossaryck, as per the norm. The two eventually just gave up and went back into the living room and plopped themselves down on the couch, too lazy to even pick up the TV remote. With all that happened today, they needed nothing more than to just sit down and do absolutely nothing.

" _Space Unicorn!~_ " Marco's cellphone ringer blared loudly in the room, disrupting the silence while Marco fished it out of his pocket, recognizing the caller ID as his and Star's friend, Janna.

"What's up, Janna?" Marco asked. Star heard frantic and panicked noises on the other end of the line. "Woah, woah, slow down, Janna, what happened? Take it from the top." He continued listening to the phone babble, occasionally muttering a 'yeah' or an 'uh-huh'... until about the end. "Wait, WHAT?! Where are you guys?! … Okay, Star and I are on the way." Marco quickly hung up his phone and dashed onto his feet.

"What was that about?" Star asked, a slight hint of concern in her eyes. Marco turned around to Star with the single-most panicked look in his eyes she had ever seen in him.

"Star, there was an accident!" Marco shouted. "It's Jackie! She was stabbed!"

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Star and Marco finally arrived at the scene where Janna had called them to be at posthaste. By the time they already got there, the ambulance had just closed its doors and the paramedics loaded up. A crowd of people were gathered there, wondering what the heck was going on, while sitting off against a newspaper dispenser with a distant look in her eyes was Janna, the tanned girl with a normally laid-back look, complimented by her green beanie hat, jacket, shirt and skirt of varying shades. Star and Marco ran up to Janna, deeply disturbed by this unnerving look Janna had, such a look of shock often never seen in the girl. He ran up to her and lightly shook her in an attempt to rouse her senses.

"Janna, Janna, we're here!" Marco said. Star looked down at the pavement near where Janna sat, already feeling a sinking sensation in her gut at the large red stain on the ground. Janna blinked a bit, snapping out of her stupor somewhat and immediately hugging Marco.

"Oh, thank god you're here." Janna said, in an uncharacteristically soft tone. "I was freakin' out while the paramedics arrived." Marco returned the hug, gently patting Janna on the shoulder for a bit until they broke away the hug.

"Alright, start from the top." Marco said. "Tell us EXACTLY what happened." Janna shakily rose to her feet, took a deep breath, and began to explain what happened.

"So, Jackie and I were walking down the street," Janna explained. "Not really doin' anything, just kinda, y'know, hangin' out and doing stuff. Said she might be considering taking up surfing over the summer, I think. So anyway, we reach this corner when this really cool and kinda creepy guy with long-black hair just stepped in the middle of the sidewalk. He wore these baggy white pants, this weird pink sleeveless vest, some purple gloves that looked like a bunch of strings, an ugly green backpack… and had scars ALL OVER HIS BODY!" Janna gestured to herself for further emphasis. "It was actually pretty awesome-looking, but he just sent these REALLY weird vibes. He points at us and says in this gritty voice 'You two know Star Butterfly, right?'. Jackie and I didn't say ANYTHING… Well, maybe I said something about his scars being cool, and he just kinda laughed." She started sweating nervously a bit and gulped. "It was a creepy laugh. He reached into his backpack and said, 'You'll do fine'... and then charged at me with this old-looking golden arrow."

"Wait, an arrow?" Star asked. "You mean you guys were attacked by that guy on the news?!" Janna nodded slowly, the image of that horrid man charging at her burned into her mind.

"He was going to stab me with it, I froze up, it was terrifying." Janna said. "I thought I was gonna die… but then Jackie shoved me out of the way. When I got back up, I saw that scarred man pulling the Arrow out of her chest and running off. It was like…" She held up her hands, forming her fingers to show the size of a half-dollar coin. "This big around, looked like it went straight through her lung." Tears started welling up in the three teens' eyes at the mere mental image of seeing their friend lying there on the ground, bleeding with a distant look in her eyes. "I… I almost threw up at the sight. I called 911 and then you guys afterwards. It was weird, she was breathing raggedly but… that thing probably hit her lung. She should have been coughing up blood, but she didn't seem like she was in, like, super extreme danger…" Star rubbed her chin in confusion at the extremely odd situation. While Marco hugged Jackie in an effort to comfort her, Star spotted something duck into an alleyway… or rather someone. She didn't get a great look, but she DID see a burly arm covered in various scars, from cuts or grazes or shots or even burns. Without a doubt, the attacker was _still there_.

"STOP! GET BACK HERE!" Star shouted, brandishing her wand just as the figure slipped out of sight into the alleyway. "I'm going after the monster who hurt Jackie!" Star sprinted full-force into the alleyway, leaving Janna and Marco behind. Marco turned to Janna with a slightly hesitant expression, unsure if he should stay or go. Janna responded with a smirk and a firm slug to the arm.

"Go kick his ass, Marco." Janna said, amused as Marco rubbed his shoulder.

"Heh, there's the Janna I know." Marco said with a small chuckle. Regaining his courage, Marco quickly trailed after Star down the alley, fully intent on bringing that menace to justice. "HANG ON, STAR! I'M ON MY WAY!" Star was in full pursuit of Jackie and Janna's attacker, but the mysterious scarred man was fully intent on impeding Star and Marco's process, overturning garbage cans, kicking up discarded newspapers, leaping over low fences, he just would not give up. Star and Marco narrowly avoided all of the attacker's attacks, Star fried the papers with bursts of magic, they dodged the rolling garbage cans (with Marco occasionally complaining about stepping in something squishy), and Star just made her own way through the fences with an explosive spell, blowing holes clean through them to avoid losing momentum. Eventually, after rounding corner after corner, the attacker found himself trapped in a dead-end alley, with Star and Marco boxing him in.

"There's... nowhere to go." Star said, panting heavily as she kept her wand firmly aimed at the attacker. "Raise up… your arms… and turn around… slowly." Steadily, the attacker complied, raising both of his bare, muscular and heavily scarred arms up above his head, turning about and fully exposing himself. Like Janna said, he wore a sleeveless pink vest, baggy white pants, lacy purple gloves, a mop of long black hair on his head, this was the guy who attacked Jackie. Only… Janna was a bit understating the scars. The man looked as though every part of his body had been broken apart and put back together again. He had severe burns, slices and stab wounds, pock-marks from gunshots and bullet-grazing, even his flat face looked chipped and fractured like a dry desert, perfectly complementing those dead, empty eyes of his. Marco looked a bit sick just staring at the man, while Star… "Holy cow, you look like you slept with about five Razorback Hedgehogs while dipping into a volcano!" Marco winced at Star's callousness, but the attacker in return… just laughed.

"I take that as a compliment." The man said, speaking in a gritty yet faint Indian accent. "Every different scar has a story to tell, therefore my body is an entire library of battles fought… and I've won every one of them. Shame that skater girl wasn't much of a fighter, probably would've gotten a good scar from that bout." Star angrily grit her teeth, her hands shaking as she continued to aim the wand at the attacker. This man wasn't like the monsters she was used to fighting, who worked for some higher authority or just wanted to fight for the sake of fighting. This man… was pure evil. "But enough about me… Let's talk about you and that wand… Star Butterfly." Star and Marco's eyes widened, while the attacker cracked a devious smile, his lips literally chipping off bits of skin from mere movement. "Yes, I know EXACTLY who you are. After all, my friends and I have been causing a big fuss all over town just to get your attention. So… That's the little wand that _he's_ after? I gotta say, not impressed."

"Why do you guys keep putting down my wand?!" Star exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Wait… So, you're part of the same group that Scaramouche works for?" Marco cautiously asked, remaining in a combat-ready Karate posture.

"Oh, so that bucket of bolts decided to blab about us. Of course, he couldn't shut that damn mouth of his." The attacker angrily spat. "But no matter, you won't live long enough to actually know anything. For you see…" The attacker lowered his arms, sinisterly glaring at the two teens as he stood in an almost pompous stature. "I, Devo the Cursed, am capable of killing anyone without even touching them. By the end of the day, you'll both be dead, and the wand will belong to Lord **DIO**." The attacker, Devo, chuckled ominously, his shoulders shaking as he took a single step forward. Star and Marco immediately tensed up, Star felt her emotions spiral out of control as this clearly dangerous and deranged man steadily walked closer to them. Scaramouche clearly enjoyed toying with Star when they fought, but this guy, Devo… He had a bloodlust in his eyes. Star, seeing no other choice… panicked.

"SUNNY SUN FIREBALL!" Star shouted, her wand lighting up and shooting a colorful ball of fire out from the half-star. It flew towards Devo and impacted him dead in the face, sending the scarred man flying backwards and into the wall. The flames faded away, but Devo was rolling back and forth on the ground, clutching his smoldering face.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He wailed, wisps of smoke escaping between his fingers. "MY FACE! MY FACE! YOU BURNED MY FACE!" He pulled his hands away… revealing that Star's attack had burned a hole through Devo's entire right cheek, exposing skin, muscle, and even TEETH. Star and Marco immediately looked repulsed, while Star felt extreme guilt that her own spell did something so damaging.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to do that." Star softly said, covering her mouth with her hands, watching in horror as Devo rubbed at the singed rims of the gaping hole in his cheek. Marco actually wanted to puke when he saw Devo's own _tongue_ poke through the hole. "M-my spells have never been this deadly before, I never…" Her fearful words were interrupted when Devo's pained moans were replaced with small giggles… which slowly evolved into mad chuckles. Star and Marco knew something was VERY wrong when Devo burst into full on demented laughter, raising his head to the heavens and bellowing in jovial madness while the scent of burned flesh wafted through the alley.

"YOU FOOL!" Devo crazily cackled. "HAHA, YOU FOOL, YOU FOOL, YOU FOOL!" He pointed at Star and Marco with an insane glare and posture. "YOU ATTACKED AND DAMAGED MY FACE, NOW I HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST YOU! NOW, THE EBONY DEVIL WILL PERCH ITSELF UPON YOUR SHOULDER, AND EXACT SWEET REVENGE UPON YOU!" He slammed his foot into the ground, kicking up the manhole cover he had apparently been standing on top of the entire time. "BYE BYE, BRATS!" While the manhole cover flipped through the air, Devo quickly jumped in through the open hole, his laughter echoing through the metal piping just as the manhole finally slammed down on the ground. Star and Marco blinked out of their daze and sprinted over to the area where their attacker once stood, his laughter fading away until it was completely gone. Star angrily kicked at the ground, furious that she let Jackie's attacker get away.

"ARGH, he was psyching us out!" Star shouted. "He was putting on this big scary show just to freak us out, and hot got away!" She kicked a can off the ground, bouncing it off the brick walls of the alley before coming to a rest in a corner with a soft thud… as it brushed against an ugly green backpack that was seemingly discarded in haste.

"Hey, Star," Marco said, taking notice of the backpack. "Didn't Janna say that the guy who attacked her has an ugly green backpack with him?" Star followed Marco's gaze and noticed the backpack as well. "Maybe that Devo guy left it…" Star's eyes lit up with possibility.

"OH MY GOD, MAYBE there's some evidence in there we can track him down with!" Star said, immediately tackling the backpack and tearing the cover off to find whatever clues could be held within. Instead of anything useful, all that was inside was a strange doll of what could possibly be described as a sleeping Indian warrior, wearing an orange and gold hat and robes, with purple wicker for hair, a small dagger in one of its hands, and a close-eyed look on its rather uniquely crafted face. Star's face fell once she saw her search was a bust. "Nah, there's nothing. Just some weird doll." Star kicked the bag aside, leaving the doll to fall onto the ground with a wooden clunk. She and Marco, now with no more leads, sighed and made their way out of the alleyway.

"Well… All that we can do now is just go visit Jackie at the hospital." Marco said. Star nodded glumly. Their encounter with Devo brought no answers to their questions, and simply raised more. A worrying thought rose in Star's mind, wondering just how many of these people who worked for Lord DIO were lurking in Echo Creek, waiting to strike at her, her friends and even innocent civilians just to get at her. The entire ordeal was worrisome, but one last thought came through her mind just as she and Marco finally returned to the main streets.

"What the heck was that 'Ebony Devil' thing scar-face was talking about?" Star asked. Elsewhere, back in the alley where Devo made his hasty escape and abandoned his personal bag. There, the Indian Warrior doll lay, resting upon the ground with a forever sleepy expression on his face. A strange grey cloud of mist funnelled up from the sewers, flowing towards the doll and entering into its nostrils. Once the wispy mist faded away… the doll's eyes shot wide open, animalistic pin-pricks on the glossy yellow eyes while the mouth cracked open with a jagged tooth smile.

" _Shouldn't-a done thaaaaat~"_

* * *

 _Author's Note: And thus, we have ourselves a bit more insight into the threat that now lurks over Star Butterfly's head. Any-who, Janna Ordonna and Glossaryck are from "Star vs. the Forces of Evil", along with the currently unseen Jackie Lynn Thomas, and our devilish and disturbing attacker was Devo the Cursed, from "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders", and actually marks our first official JoJo character appearance for the story! More to come in due time, but until then, you all enjoy the chapter, keep an eye posted for the next chapter to come, and have yourselves a magical day! Take care!_

 _P.S. I've been re-reading a lot of the JoJo Manga series to get reference material, and I am in desperate need for someone to help me figure out how the hell King Crimson works. SOMEONE TELL ME HOW KING CRIMSON WORKS, PLEASE!_


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

" _ **Devil on Your Shoulder"**_

* * *

" _Dr. Whalen, paging Dr. Whalen._ " The intercom droned its lifeless tone in the halls of the pristine and clean hospital. " _You are needed in Operating Room #131_." Star sighed to herself, clutching Marco's hand tightly as the two walked side by side, putting on brave faces not just for their friend, but for themselves. After Devo's escape, Star and Marco made their way to the hospital, where Janna said that Jackie had just been put in intensive care for her injuries. The walk to Echo Creek General Hospital, the wait in the lobby, and now the trek down the halls was met with nothing but silence as they were guided by a nurse. Out of the two, Marco was taking the attack the hardest, as it was no secret between anyone that he once harbored a crush for the popular young girl. And how could he not? Aside from Jackie being one of the more attractive students at their school, she was such a laid-back and kind-hearted person whose smile often lit up Marco's days. Star knew that Marco did hold feelings towards Jackie, and often openly supported their relationship, but she still felt as though something was… off about the whole thing. However, talk of relationships was off to the side for now, a friend was stabbed by a scarred lunatic and that was the primary concern.

Whatever thoughts that Star and Marco held within themselves were brought to a screeching halt when the nurse stopped them in front of one of the patient rooms. One whose current occupant was a fourteen-year old girl.

"I think she's awake at the moment," The nurse said, placing a hand on the doorway. "However, I'm certain she's a bit shell-shocked from her injury, so I recommend being as calm and quiet as -" The nurse wasn't able to get another word out when Star kicked the door in and bolted inside, tears welling up in her eyes in worry at Jackie's condition.

"JACKIE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" She cried out. "I'M SORRY WE WEREN'T FAST ENOUGH, THAT DEVO GUY STABBED AND YOU GOT HURT, AND I'M SO SORRY HE GOT AWAY AND - why are you looking at me like that?" When Marco entered into the room, he was surprised to see a few notable things about their friend. Despite her usually well-kempt beach-blonde hair (sporting the unique toothpaste stripe running down the side) a frizzy mess and her change of attire from the casual skater gear to a blue medical gown, Jackie seemed to be 100% fine. Marco saw no trace of worry or fear in Jackie's bright green eyes, a small smirk was on her face at Star's rambunctious actions, and most of all, she didn't even bear any signs of injury, despite the alleged fatalness of her wound.

"Dude, Star, I'm alright." Jackie chuckled, even her usual laid-back attitude was unchanged. "Thanks for checking up on me though. You too, Marco." Marco chuckled nervously a bit, blushing and rubbing the back of his head.

"But-but-but-but Janna said you were stabbed through the LUNG!" Star exclaimed. "Don't humans NEED lungs to breathe?" Star and Marco both moved over to Jackie's bedside, while Jackie herself tried to search for an answer.

"I know, right?" Jackie said, tapping her chin. "It was freaky. That scarred dude was gonna stab Janna, so I… threw myself in front of her and took the shot. My life actually flashed before my eyes." Her eyes widened a bit while her hands shook jazz-style. "It was pretty awesome, despite the, y'know, me being lung-shot part. So, I'm laying there, I think I was dying for a bit, but when the arrow gets pulled out of me… Something weird happened." Star and Marco both raised an eyebrow in confusion, leaning forward a bit. "I don't know how to describe it, but it was like… Some kinda really big WAVE hit me. It didn't hurt, it just… was weird, this huge wave completely crashed on me." Her smile returned and she glanced between her two friends. "Hey, dudes, after I get discharged from here, wanna go surfing?" Even amidst the tension of it all, Marco, Jackie and Star couldn't help but chuckle at the slight absurdity of the notion… yet it certainly made them all feel more at ease. No one was hurt, nothing was off, this was just three friends spending time with each other and enjoying being with each other.

"Excuse me, Ms. Thomas," The slightly flabbergasted nurse from earlier said, stepping into the room. "I need to escort your visitors back to the waiting room, Dr. Quymn wanted to run one more test with you before we discharge you."

"Alright, cool." Jackie said, nodding. "Star, Marco, we'll catch up and go out after they let me outta this joint, okay?"

"Alright, we'll be waiting on ya!" Star cheerily said. She grabbed Marco's hand and forcibly dragged him out of the room, much to the dismay of the frantic nurse. Jackie couldn't help but laugh a bit, loving the free-spirited and adventurous nature that Star carried with her almost everywhere she went. The only thing that did bother her was what the doctors said earlier. Underneath the bandages strapped across her chest… there wasn't anything that needed to be tended to. No cuts, no blood, no gaping hole, no damaged organs… it was like she wasn't even stabbed in the first place.

"... Man, why am I focusing so much on surfing right now?" Jackie asked herself, her line of thought broken away once more by that odd desire. _Where did that even come from?_

* * *

"I like how I can see my face on the floors here." Star cheerily noted, staring down at her pristine reflection in the linoleum tiling. Marco couldn't help but chuckle at the complete 1080 Star's mood had taken after seeing Jackie completely fine and healthy, although things just weren't adding up in his brain with the whole scenario. The doctor's said that the arrow that Jackie was stabbed with speared completely through her lung, she should have died from that attack and yet she didn't even sport a scar or the slightest bit of internal bleeding. And more on the thought of the attacker himself, Devo. It was obvious that he attacked Jackie and Janna as an attempt to lure Star out, but why didn't he full-on attack them in the alley? Marco still remarked on the weird words that Devo mentioned, how he was capable of killing people via a grudge. Almost like he was invoking a curse on people, it made Marco wonder if the guy was either magic or just completely insane. However, with how his life has been recently, those two could be one in the same.

"Have you heard of it before?" Marco asked out loud. Star looked up from her reflection and glanced at Marco with a perplexed expression.

"Heard of what before?" She asked.

"Some kind of magic that…" Marco hesitantly said, glancing around the waiting room to see if anyone was listening. Thankfully the only other people in the room was a mother preoccupied with watching her child play around with a doll. He leaned forward and whispered to Star. "That can kill people through a grudge." Star just dismissively waved a hand and sputtered.

"Nah, that doesn't sound like any kinda magic I've ever heard of." Star said, confidence in her tone. "Not even in the Forbidden Chapters of the spellbook. Sounds like some kind of Monster Curse, though, and those are just a bunch of…" She playfully flailed her arms about. "Bleh-bleh-bleh superstition. Besides…" She flopped over her seat and smiled. "Jackie's fine, that Devo guy is gone. He was probably just trying to scare us." Marco chuckled a bit, although the trace of nervousness was still in his voice. The whole affair left him on edge, ever since Scaramouche's attack, today has just been a nonstop bombardment of things going on, most of which have been life-threatening. Knowing Jackie got hurt (despite her unusual and miraculous recovery) still put him on edge. Fortunately, Star's much calmer attitude served as his life-raft adrift this sea of stress. Star hopped off her seat and dusted her clothes off. "I'm gonna quickly head to the bathroom, I'll be back." With a merry gait in her step, Star skipped off down the hall and made her way to the bathroom.

"Yeah… she's probably right." Marco said, reclining a bit in his own seat. "Maybe it was just some kinda scare tactic. Nothing to worry about…" Marco's train of thought was derailed by the sound of the child in the room, crying and clutching her hand while her mother comforted her. Marco could've sworn it was his ears messing with him, but he thought he heard the kid cry out 'The Dollie bit me'... and heard a scampering of small footsteps echo down the hall.

* * *

A flush echoed throughout the bathroom as Star exited the stall, relieved that she could have a moment to relax. She made her way to the sink to wash up, whistling a cheery tune to herself. Looking up from the sink, Star smiled at her reflection in the mirror, glad to know her friends were alright, despite all that happened earlier today. Just as Star turned off the sink's waters, she heard the door open partially with a creak and a soft thud. She turned her head and saw that something was obstructing the door, something that looked like a small doll's foot. Star quirked her head in confusion and went to investigate, opening the door fully and picking up the doll for further examination.

"Hey…" Star mused, examining the doll from all angles. "This looks like that same warrior doll that Devo had in his backpack…" True to her own word, this doll did indeed look exactly like the doll Devo abandoned in the alleyway, with the orange and yellow warrior garb, the olive brown skin and the dark brown soft hair. The only major difference with this doll was that its eyes were wide open, showing a set of glossy yellow orbs that seemed to blankly stare back. Star didn't like the way the doll was looking at her, it gave her a chilling vibe. "A little kid must've dropped this here. I'll probably turn this into lost-and-found or something." She winced again, looking at the doll's creepy eyes. "I don't like you, scary doll." With doll in hand, Star stepped out of the bathroom and into the empty hospital hallway, trying to remember which way she came. "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan, why does this place gotta be so boring? I everything looks the same, I might get lost in here - OW!" Star dropped the doll and clutched her hand, a sudden spike of pain shooting up her catching her completely off-guard. A sudden warmth and wetness ran on her hand, coupled with a few faint pitter-patter of something wet hitting the floor. Star tentatively pulled her hand away to look at the damages: A small pin had been stabbed into the palm of her hand, a thin line of blood dripping out of the wound and dotting the white tile floor a few shades of red. "What the heck…?" She muttered, cautiously reaching for the pin stuck in her hand. With a pained yelp, she pulled the needle out and began pressing on the wound. "G-good thing I'm in a hospital…" She weakly chuckled to herself. "Man, that's the hand I hold my wand in…" As Star sighed, she glanced down to retrieve the doll she dropped… but her eyes shrank to pinpricks when she saw something VERY perturbing.

The doll was gone.

"Oh no…" Star immediately began looking around the hall, a welling fear entering her chest as her hand throbbed in pain. Marco and Devo's words came back to haunt her, she was being attacked by an unseen enemy, and she was left defenseless. She had no idea where the enemy was going to attack or even what it looked like, but all she could do was be prepared.

"KEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A shrill voice screamed out from behind Star. Before she could turn around, something leapt onto Star's back and forcibly yanked down onto her hair like a rampant child. Star screamed in pain and surprise, flailing her arms wildly about in an effort to get her attacker off her back. Panicking, Star rammed her back into the wall, dislodging her attacker and freeing herself while she fumbled to retrieve her wand.

"Don't move you little… creep?" Star said, drawing her wand out and aiming it at whoever or whatever hit her, immediately losing focus when she saw what lay slumped on the ground: The doll. Its features had drastically changed, however. Its face becoming more rigid and monstrous, sprouting spines on its chin and cheeks, its mouth contained two rows of sharp piranha-like teeth, and it sported a massive hole in its right cheek… like a burn wound.

"Star Butterfly..." The doll eerily sang, staggering onto its feet as it glared at Star with its glossy yellow eyes. Its voice was a chipper and creaky tone that seemed interlaced with a deeper masculine voice, like someone was puppeting it. "You shouldn't have burned a hole in my face, so now…" It reached into its robes and pulled out a pair of sharp medical scalpels. "I, EBONY DEVIL, AM GONNA KILL YOU TO DEATH, BRRRRRRRRAT! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEEH!" Star's eyes nearly widened to the point of popping out of the sockets. The Ebony Devil, the ability to kill via a grudge… It was Devo's curse, and Star was at his mercy. The doll rattled off another clicky laugh and vaulted itself at Star, brandishing the scalpels like knives. Star barely managed to dodge, her cheek partially sliced by the tip of one of the blades as Ebony Devil flew past her.

"BAD DOLL!" Star shouted, trying to mask the fear in her voice. Ebony Devil whirled around and tucked the scalpels back into its robes. It let off another cackle before leaping once more at Star, landing right on her face like a pouncing dog and latching on tight like a newspaper in the wind. Star's vision was obscured, causing her to run about wildly as the doll clung tightly to her, laughing madly as it grabbed handfuls of her hair and yanked her about. "GET OFFA ME!" She screamed, much to the delight of the killer doll.

"I'm gonna claw out your pretty little eyes!" The doll shrieked in delight, rapidly kicking at Star's cheeks like a fitful child. Star bumped and ran about in the hall, screaming and running for help as the doll furiously attacked her. Various doctors, nurses, and ever a few patients peered their heads out into the halls at the sign of the commotion, getting the bizarre sight of a blonde-haired girl running around screaming and bleeding with a doll stuck to her face. Star tried everything to get Ebony Devil off of her, ramming headfirst into walls, slamming her head against hospital gurneys, to even bashing her face against metal TV trays, but none of it could dislodge the killer doll.

"WHY WON'T ANYONE HELP ME?!" Star shrieked, smacking at the doll with her wand. Ebony Devil cackled again, scratching more and more at Star's face with its small clawed hands. This thing was like an irritating bug that latched on and refused to leave until the damage was done, and Star was progressively becoming less terrified and more annoyed at the repetitive attacks. That is, until Ebony Devil finally leapt off of her and scampered off into the hall again. Star breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness, he's gone... My face stiiiiiiiiiiings…" And then her worry came back when she saw the doll sprinting towards her, cackling madly with several belts looped around its body. She quickly held up her wand to defend herself, but before she could utter any kind of spell to defend herself, Ebony Devil rammed its head right into her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying on top of a hospital bed. She moaned in pain, unaware that the bed began to steadily roll down the hall.

"KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEEH!" Ebony Devil cackled, running about the bed and strapping Star down with the belts, rendering her completely helpless. Star gasped and attempted to break free, but to no avail. The doll snatched the wand from Star's hands and gawked at it with an evil expression. "Oooh, nice toy! I think the boss is gonna love using this thing for all KINDSA chaos!" The doll began smacking Star's head with the round top of the wand like a Whack-A-Mole hammer, cackling madly as the bed trolley rolled down the hall, passing by several patient rooms in the process.

"SOMEONE HELP ME, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Star shouted, a bruise starting to form on her head from the doll's vigorous abuse. Fortunately, Star's pleas for help were heard, as convenience had her bed whizz on past the room where Jackie's medical stay was. The skater girl heard Star's cries for help and immediately scrambled to get out of the bed.

"Hang on, Star," Jackie called out as she was about to slide off the bed. "I'm on my - WOAH!" She stumbled slightly when she felt her foot stand atop something that seemed like unstable ground. She fumbled and landed on the floor, bashing her head slightly. As she rubbed her head in pain, Jackie saw what she had stepped on… and her eyes went wide in confusion and surprise. She only had one word on the matter.

"Cool."

* * *

"She really is taking a long time…" Marco muttered to himself, kicking his feet idly as he sat in the waiting room. There had been absolutely no word from Star in the past couple minutes she'd been gone, and he was starting to grow concerned for his friend. The entire room was empty except for him and the nurse at the desk who spent most of the time talking on the phone to someone. It was less that Marco felt a sense of boredom without Star, but more a feeling of worry. Despite Star's attempts to dissuade him of his fears earlier, he _still_ felt suspicious about the whole matter with Devo and his alleged curse. The fact the hospital was practically dead silent didn't help matters either, just further increasing Marco's own anxiousness. It was if you could hear a pin drop at the sudden quietness.

"SOMEONE HELP ME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" A familiar voice echoed throughout the halls of the building. Marco immediately leapt onto his feet, hearing Star cry out for help finally pushed him over the edge.

"I'm on my way, Star!" Marco shouted with determination, sprinting through the hall doors to find and (hopefully) save his friend. As he sped through the white tiled halls, Marco saw the place was an absolute wreck. Wheelchairs were overturned, papers were scattered everywhere, cracks were in the walls, everything was haphazardly thrown about like a twister blew through the area, all while several confused and frantic nurses and doctors did their best to clean up. Marco ran up to a doctor with well-kempt black hair and a slightly handsome face. "Excuse me, doctor, but did you see a girl with bushy blonde hair come through here?"

"Yes, she was strapped to a hospital bed and wheeling down the hall towards one of the operating rooms." The doctor explained, slightly scoffing. "That girl should have taken her horseplay with that doll elsewhere."

"Doll, what do - oh no." Marco's face sank in sudden realization at what was going on. "Which way did she go?!" The doctor pointed off down the hall, and Marco immediately sprinted off down the hall in search of Star. Hopefully she was alright…

* * *

Star blearily opened her eyes as the operating light flared overhead, temporarily blinding her. Everything hurt, from her arms and legs constrained by the belts, to her bleeding hand still dripping blood from the pin stabbing, to her face, covered in scratches and bruises from Ebony Devil's assault on the bed. Not to mention her ankles being covered in bite marks from a few minutes ago, that little doll had SHARP teeth. Star was in so much pain, she just wanted it to end.

"HIYAH!" Ebony Devil cried out, looming over Star's face and scaring the daylights out of her. The doll was wearing a doctor's mouth guard and hat (both of which were a bit too large on the living toy), and cackled madly at seeing Star's terrified expression. "I bet you pissed yourself when I did that! Did you? DID YOU?! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEEH!" The doll cackled and scampered off into the room, rummaging around for something.

"Why… why are you doing this?" Star weakly asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes. The doll ceased its searching and hopped onto Star's chest. It cackled madly and pulled down its mouth-mask, grinning with its sharp teeth and poking at the gaping hole in its cheek.

"You hurt me badly with that spell of yours, Butterfly." The doll said. Its distorted voice was gone, now it spoke in the all-too familiar voice of Devo. "Burned a hole through my cheek, I don't think it'll heal. And I hate you for it." It leaned forward and glared into her eyes. "I hate you for hurting me, and this doll that the Ebony Devil possesses is acting as my spirit of vengeance." It reached into its robes and pulled out a scalpel, tauntingly waving it in front of her face. "And once you're dead, I'll take your wand back to my employer and make millions. Kekekekekekekekeeh…" It stabbed the scalpel down onto the bedding, mere centimeters from cutting into Star's ear, causing Star to whimper in fear. It cackled again and hopped off of Star, resuming its earlier search.

"Your employer…" Star muttered. "He's that DIO guy, right?" The doll seemed to freeze up at mention of the name. Star worried for a moment that she had ticked off the doll, or the scarred man controlling it. The doll's head suddenly snapped backwards, rotating around completely to face Star with a hollow and horrid expression.

"You speak his name so casually…" Ebony Devil, or rather, Devo said. "You truly don't know whom you have made yourself an enemy of." It stood up and walked back on top of Star, arms behind its back as it eerily glared at her. "And you never will, once I'm done with you… Kekekekekekekekeeh…" With a whirl, the doll revealed that it held a glass medical bottle behind its back, one filled with a clear yet slightly murky liquid. It uncorked the bottle and began haphazardly splattering the slightly strong-smelling liquid all over itself, the bed, the equipment, and Star herself. Gagging slightly at the strong smell, Star recognized the liquid dumped all over her by the violent doll from the various times her father taught her first aid in survival: alcohol. Her eyes went wide, watching the doll leap off her chest and hang on to the electrical lights dangling above, its fanged mouth curled up in a menacing grin. "You are gonna make the prettiest little bonfire, Butterfly. Best part: It's gonna all look like some freak accident! KEYAAKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEH!" It began bouncing on the light fixture, steadily beginning to pry it loose with every successful hop. Star closed her eyes, praying to whatever being of fate was listening to her at the time, that someone would come and save her.

"HANG ON STAR, I'M HERE!" Proclaimed Marco, kicking the door down and coming to the rescue in just the nick of time. Star looked up and smiled widely seeing Marco arrive to rescue her like a handsome knight in shining armor… then immediately wondered where the 'handsome' detail came from.

"Marco!" Star cried out. "Look out, there's a psycho doll here possessed by that Devo guy and he's TRYING TO KILL ME!" Before Marco could even think to process what Star had just said, Ebony Devil let off a loud screech and leaped from the light fixture towards Marco, latching onto his face like a furious and angry bug.

"GAH! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Marco exclaimed, waving his arms wildly in an attempt to swat the doll off his face.

"I'M GONNA BITE YOUR BALLS OFF, YOU BRAT!" Ebony Devil shrieked, punching at Marco's face while its legs wrapped around his neck. Marco screamed and ran amok about the operating room, trying to knock the doll off and trying to get the wafting scent of alcohol out of his nose. Star futilely struggled in an effort to escape from her bindings, her wand just out of reach and the loose light dangling dangerously close to her chest. Marco yanked the doll off his face and immediately threw it towards a nearby open cabinet, shattering several bottles within and dousing the manic and possessed doll in chemicals. It cackled madly, reaching into its robes and pulling out six syringes loaded with chemicals. "There's enough morphine in these to put you down for good, brat!" Ebony Devil vaulted from the cabinet, shrieking and cackling as it sped towards Marco like a homicidal bullet. "SAY GOODNIGHT, KIDDO. KEYAAKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEH!"

 ***WHAM!***

Star and Marco could only stare in complete shock and awe for what they saw. Even Ebony Devil was surprised, if not extremely disoriented from what just happened. The whole thing hit all of them full force like a train… almost literally in one case. Ebony Devil slumped onto the ground, eyes wide and distant as his assailant stood triumphantly over it. Marco and Star turned to their savior and only said one word.

"Jackie?!" The two exclaimed. None other than Jackie Lynn Thomas stood in the operating room, the girl who saved Star and Marco from a crazed murder doll, however, her weapon of attack seemed… extremely unconventional. Held in her arms like a baseball bat was… a surfboard. An unusual-looking surfboard, at that, with a primary body the color of seafoam green, with a sandy, seashell-shaped back and fin underneath. Jackie clutched the surfboard in her arms and immediately swung it at Ebony Devil again, sending the doll flying once more, right into an electrical monitor. The screen shattered upon impact, zapping the doll with tremendous voltage of electricity, causing Ebony Devil to jolt about in spastic fashion… before ultimately bursting into flames from the extremely flammable liquid coating its body finally catching light. The doll screamed in agonizing pain, falling into the floor and rolling about in a futile effort to extinguish the flames. Jackie flipped her sandy blonde hair back and narrowed her eyes at the damnable doll.

"Surf's up, dude." She said. Marco stared at Jackie with an awestruck expression, while Star… thought that was the dumbest one-liner she'd ever heard spoken. Even Jackie realized this and put a palm to her face in slight embarrassment. "Ah, man, that was BAD. Like… really bad." She chuckled to herself. Marco immediately shook his head out of the starstruck state and immediately rushed over to Star's side.

"You alright, Star?" He worriedly asked. Star nodded, flinching slightly at the pain flaring up in her face and hand. Marco quickly went to work of undoing the straps holding her down, ignoring the continuous screams of the still burning Ebony Devil.

"Man, that was a close save, huh?" Jackie said, making her way to Star's side with the surfboard tucked under her arm and Star's wand in hand. "I mean, what was up with that doll, right?" The belts came loose and Star steadily rose up, feeling all the strain from earlier finally catching up.

"Yeah, crazy stuff…" Star said, wincing in pain. "Thanks for the save, Jackie." Jackie just smiled and nodded.

"Where'd you get that surfboard, by the way?" Marco asked, helping Star onto her feet and staring at the surfboard. Jackie glanced at the board and simply shrugged.

"Found it randomly under my bed." Jackie nonchalantly said. "Got some weird vibe from it, like I was supposed to have it or something. Looks cool, though, huh?" Marco nodded vigorously as Jackie presented the board. Star looked at it and felt a slightly… off sensation from it. There was something more to this surfboard, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Ebony Devil continued screaming and wailing as more and more of its body began to become a burning pile of rags, cloth and wood.

"KEEEEEYAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaah…" The doll's scream slowly died down as it slumped down onto the floor in a corner of the room, it's hollow and horrid eyes starting to blacken and dim… before it ultimately fell silent. The Ebony Devil was no more. Star, Marco and Jackie let off a sigh of relief as the menacing doll was finally defeated.

Marco cleared his throat. "We… probably should get out of here before we get in trouble." He said. Jackie and Star nodded in response. The three teenagers darted out of the hospital room, but as they ran, Star still couldn't take her eyes off that surfboard. There was something off about it… but what?

* * *

 _Meanwhile, at Mammoth Corps. Executive Offices, Downtown LA..._

"I'm telling you, smells like overcooked ham." Said one of the two finely dressed men walking down the lavish halls of the executive corporate building. Someone a few doors down alerted a strange complaint about a foul odor coming from the fifth-floor men's restroom, so the security was sent to investigate. The smell was completely pungent as the two men entered into the bathroom.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about how bad it smelled." The other guard said. One by one, the two began opening the stall doors for the source of the horrid scent. It wasn't until they reached the handicap stall when they saw where the smell was coming from… and heard the sound of something frying. Inside the stall, propped on the toilet, was a burnt human body, wearing what was left of a pink vest and baggy pants. Its face was frozen in a horrified scream, and a few bits of bubbling and melting flesh were seen still clinging to the gaping hole in one of its cheeks. The two guards sighed and closed the stall.

"Alright, you call the cleaner," One guard said. "I'll tell Monstroso about the body. He is NOT going to be happy one of the assassins failed…"

* * *

 **DEVO THE ACCURSED**

 **EBONY DEVIL STAND USER**

 **STATUS: DECEASED**

* * *

 **Stand Name: Ebony Devil**

 **User: Devo the Accursed (Deceased)**

 **Appearance:** Ebony Devil bears semblance to that of a bronze statue of a Sardinian Bronzetti Warrior. Ebony Devil has filiform limbs, an alien head with four eyes and two long horns. It has two disks in front of its chest and holds a dagger in its hand. When possessing an object, it takes on a gaseous form, and will alter the object to bear a similar appearance to the injuries sported by the User.

 **Stats:**

Power - D

Speed - D

Range - A

Durability - B

Precision - D

Learning Potential - B

 **Abilities:** _Hatred Amplification._ When the User is hit/injured, depending on how much hatred the User feels towards his attacker, Ebony Devil will become a living grudge and possess an object capable of moving on its own. Then, it will, independently of its User's will, seek out and brutally murder the initial attacker. Destroying the object will kill the User.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Okay, reference for the Mal Masque of the future: Never ask a rhetorical question as a joke, otherwise people WILL take it seriously. As much as I appreciate the responses I've been getting, nearly every one of them contained more information about how King Crimson works (IT JUST DOES, PEOPLE) than about the actual chapter. Either way, I'm glad to see the responses I've been getting and knowing that you all enjoy this story. Anyway, onto the ACTUAL tidbits! So, characters: Jackie Lynn Thomas of Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, for one… I'm just gonna expect a whole lot of flak from you crazy Starco people who will CRUCIFY me for having Jackie do something useful, but I don't give a damn. There's so much potential for Jackie in the actual show, it never gets used, so now, here potential gets to FLOURISH! Character rant over… and now here's the part where I tell you all to keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter, in which we get something entirely new! Oh, and special props to anyone who can guess the hidden name references in this chapter. Until next time, this is Mal Masque, signing off!_

 _P.S. Robert EO Speedwagon is best Waifu. I HAVE SPOKEN!_


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

" _ **Free Riding"**_

* * *

"I'll be back in an hour or so, Star." Marco called out, looking up from a list in his hand as he made his way to the front door. "Gotta pick up these snack stuffs for movie night."

"Don't forget the buttered popcorn!" Star replied from her position on the couch (that being, upside down with her legs idly kicking in the air) with her eyes partially glued to the TV. "That's good stuff." Marco chuckled and unlocked the door.

"Just call me if you need anything," Marco said. "See ya!" He stepped out the door and shut it behind him, leaving Star by her lonesome while he left to run errands of the utmost importance. A week had passed since Star was attacked by Ebony Devil, and thankfully, that week had been completely relaxing. Jackie was discharged from the hospital officially, taking that odd surfboard with her, while Star and Marco spent the week doing practically nothing. It was an ideal teen summer start, and it was going swimmingly, aside from a few hiccups named Scaramouche and Devo. Star sighed to herself, pushing those thoughts out of her head entirely and focusing her attention back on the TV.

"We'll return to the program after these messages," the TV announcer said, starting to go to commercial, no doubt for yet another advertisement from Mammoth Corps. Star groaned, getting tired of seeing that commercial and Mammoth Corps. appearing everywhere, lifting up the remote and flicking to the next channel… which was global news.

"- Relations with the Kingdom of Novoselic are reaching despairingly new lows today," the news reporter said, a caption below displaying the text 'New Queen of Novoselic Threatens the European Union'. "As the current sovereign, Queen Sonia, has declared, the Kingdom will be leaving the European Union for reasons currently unknown to the general public. In recent years, Novoselic has been in a rapid state of economic success since Queen Sonia was crowned, shortly after the tragic demise of the prior sovereign. However, the continuously growing armed forces has put the majority of Europe at a state of unease."

Star scoffed, rolling back up and blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Crazy ruler. Bet she would totally get tossed into St. Olga's," she said, immediately flicking to the next channel… another news report, this time about an impending crisis in Japan.

"- Geologists are uncertain at this time," the news reporter said. "But they believe that there is a high possibility of earthquake activity on the west coast of Japan, and they fear it's going to be a big one. All residents in the coastal cities are urged to evacuate and seek safety." Star flipped to the next channel, feeling a little worry for the people in that country. Earthquakes are nasty things; she remembered hearing a lot about them happening in California from Marco, his parents and her other Earth friends. The next channel, once more a news report, was local! Unfortunately, Star realized exactly what the report was at the instant she saw the image of the hospital.

"There are no guaranteed leads on who caused the fire in the primary operating room," the news woman said, skimming through her papers. "And police are currently listing the occurrence as a minor incident. However, several witness reports recall seeing a young, blonde-haired girl, possibly in her teen years, running about and screaming, with a doll on her face. Due to lack of evidence, and a possibility of linking a name to the face, the girl has been ruled out, thought to be a separate incident." Star breathed a sigh of relief at that notion. The absolute last thing she needed was for the Earth police to arrest her for a case of arson that she didn't even start. Her mom and dad would be absolutely livid if that happened! Still, seeing the hospital again and remembering how Jackie and Marco saved her… it brought up the memory of what occurred shortly after the incident itself.

* * *

 _One Week Earlier…_

Star sat in front of her opened spellbook, having recently just explained everything that had happened with Devo and Ebony Devil to the, as usual, irate Glossaryck. The small being of infinite magical power floated a foot above the pages of the book, a slight smear of chocolate pudding on his pinkish lips, due in part to the small bribe that Star held in her hands.

"And then we came back here," Star concluded. "But the weirdest thing of all…"

"Implying that a doll possessed by a grudge _isn't_ the weirdest thing of the bunch…" Glossaryck muttered to himself.

"Was that surfboard Jackie found," Star continued. "I mean, it was giving off this really strange vibe, almost like… it wasn't a normal surfboard." Glossaryck pursed his lips together and pressed his fingers against each other in contemplation. "I think it was magic."

"I see…" Glossaryck said, narrowing his diamond-like eyes. "Did the wand do anything?" Star quirked her head to the side in confusion. A usual occurrence when the two talk. "I mean did the wand react at all to this surfboard? Magical artifacts and objects have a habit of resonating with each other, like buzzing or flashing or spontaneous combustion." Ignoring that last part, Star pulled out her wand and examined the half-star on the center.

"Now that you mention it…" Star slowly said. "The wand started to give off this… weird light. Like a... faint blue color, like a baby dolphin." Glossaryck hummed to himself, stroking his long white beard in contemplation, the ancient gears within his mind churning with all manner of possibility.

"Hmm… I might have some manner of idea what it means." Glossaryck said, a small smirk appearing on his lips. Star rolled her eyes and spoon-fed Glossaryck a scoop of pudding from the cup in her hands. Glossaryck smacked his lips in delight at his favorite bribe. "Ah, good stuff. Anyway, the glow likely means the wand is picking up a unique strain of energy that's not quite magic."

"Not quite magic?" Star asked. Glossaryck nodded in response.

"Yep, not quite magic." He repeated. "Granted, I can't be too sure without evidence. Next chance you get, ask your friend to bring this mysterious surfboard here so I can get a good look at it, okay?" Star stood up and dropped into a salute, while Glossaryck looked nonplussed. "Great, now if you'll excuse me, I gotta jazz-ercise." He pulled his robe up a bit and stretched one of his slightly hairy legs out. "This girlish figure of mine takes a LOT of effort to keep up. Bye!" The book slammed itself shut, leaving Star in her state of salute. She needed to find Jackie and figure out the deal with that surfboard...

At least, that's what week-ago-Star told herself. Then she, like every teenager in existence, caught a nasty case of Summertime Laziness and the thought was completely pushed from her mind, replaced with relaxation, TV, snack foods, and spending time goofing around with Marco. Remembering her mission brought forth by her magic mentor, Star hopped onto her feet with a determined look on her face.

"I GOTTA find Jackie!" Star proclaimed to no one in particular… aside from the little puppy pawing at her foot. "The mystery of the 'maybe-not-magic' surfboard is too important!"

"We now return you to ' _Dance 'Til Tomorrow_ ', featuring guest judge, world famous dancer, Hiyoko Saiyonji," the TV responded. Star immediately forgot what she was talking about and sat back down on the couch with a wide-eyed expression.

"Oooh, I love this show," Star breathlessly said.

* * *

Marco stepped out of the Speedy-Mart convenience store, a bag full of movie-night snacks hanging from his arm. He double and triple checked his list to make sure he had everything he and Star needed for their movie marathon tonight. Marco didn't remember what movie Star ended up picking, something about loving the abs of the guy playing the main character, and the name 'North Star' being mentioned, but he simply shrugged and moved on. Considering all the hassle that went down a week ago, she and Marco absolutely needed this relaxation.

"Hopefully Star won't turn the popcorn bowl into a hat again in excitement." Marco chuckled to himself, the bags in his hands swinging idly side to side with every step he took. The streets were mostly vacant for the day, so Marco was left to his lonesome with his thoughts as he walked back home. A few of those thoughts strayed to a week ago, the erratic day in which his and Star's lives were threatened _twice_ , first by a musical robot assassin and second by a deranged doll possessed by a lunatic covered in scars. That day was extreme for many reasons, some involving being trapped partially in a block of cement, another relating to the fact that the girl he had a great crush on was lethally shot as a ploy by their unknown enemy. Granted, Jackie turned out to be perfectly fine and healthy, but it was still the worry that a friend was attacked that kept him on edge. Ludo never did that. Toffee never did that. But Devo and Scaramouche did…

"Hey Marco!" called a familiar voice Marco immediately recognized as Jackie's. He turned to face Jackie with a smile, having not seen her since the hospital attack.

"Oh hey Jackieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?" His greeting trailed off when he spoke. True to his own assumption, Jackie was standing directly in front of him, wearing her usual attire of shorts, t-shirt, and that sea-shell necklace she always had on, but something else was… off. After the hospital incident, Jackie went home to do something about the weird surfboard she had found; that thing gave off extremely weird vibes for everyone. Well, considering that Jackie was standing on top of the thing while the ground _literally curled up underneath it_ like a wave, those weird vibes certainly fully justified. Marco's brain had completely flatlined at what he was seeing. Jackie chuckled and rocked her feet back and forth on the board, shifting the asphalt below as though it were simply waves of water.

"Yeah, I had that same look three days ago," Jackie chuckled. She leaned forward on the board a bit, the ground beneath her rolling inwards on itself and pushing the board forward a bit. "Whaddaya think?" Marco could only just stare with a slack-jawed expression.

"I… what… HUH?!" Marco exclaimed. Jackie chuckled again, hopping off the surfboard and landing in front of Marco. When she picked up her board, the ground beneath the board returned completely to normal. She smirked and slugged Marco's shoulder to snap him out of it. "Okay, I'm cool now…" he calmly said, rubbing his shoulder. "So… tell me what the heck is going on with that surfboard."

"All right, sure," Jackie said, moving over to a nearby bench to rest herself and the board. She motioned for Marco to join her, to which Marco more than happily obliged. "Okay, so it all started just shortly after I got home from the hospital. My folks were freaking out for a bit, but after I showed 'em I was fine, it was all cool. Four days later after 'resting', since mom and dad didn't want me going out in case I got hurt, I finally decided to take this awesome new surfboard to the beach. This thing handles really well, like I was meant to ride on it." She stood up, gesturing about with her hands. "So I'm riding the waves, almost like a pro or something, when I start heading back towards the the beach, I think I'm gonna crash. I brace myself for a nasty spill, when I hit the sand and suddenly, BOOM!" She flung her surfboard down and hopped onto it, with the ground once again molding and shifting like a wave. She then began surfing the pavement in circles, much to Marco's astonishment. "The sand starts moving like a wave, no sign of slowing down, and I end up riding all the way back into town. Took me HOURS to get over just how awesome it was!" She hopped off and picked up her surfboard, sitting next to Marco again. "So, I've been messing with this thing ever since; my parents don't know about it. Dude, this thing has gotta be magic."

"I can't think of it as anything else," Marco said, staring in awe at the surfboard. "It's not like any magic I've seen, though…" Despite not being a really magically-influenced person himself, Marco had been exposed to enough magic to know that different spells and magic had different feels to them. Some kind of natural aura that gave off certain feelings. Star's Wand had a really cheery and powerful feel to it, like there was a feel of positivity from every Narwhal Blast or Warnicorn Stampede. When Toffee and Ludo possessed magic, there was an intense feel of malice and anger in it, pure negativity to the point it made his skin crawl. However, this strange surfboard… felt beyond different than either one of them. The strange vibe the surfboard gave off was not an emotion like the Wand, but more like… it was a state of being. It simply existed, yet there was so much more to it. It was as though there was some kind of… attachment that clung to it, like it was an extension of something else. Just what the heck WAS this thing?

"Um… Marco, dude," Jackie said, a concerned look on her face. "You've been staring at my board like a dog that peed on the lawn for about five minutes now. You're weirding me out." Marco shook his head and regained his senses, chuckling sheepishly.

"Sorry, I was just focusing on how weird this thing is," Marco admitted. "I mean, a surfboard that conveniently appeared when we were attacked by a psycho murder doll that can also do… THAT. Just seems really convenient." Jackie just shrugged in response to Marco's conundrum.

"Eh, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth on this one," she said. "Maybe it's coincidence, maybe it's fate, maybe I'm lucky, I don't know or really care." Jackie hopped back onto her board and began idly surfing the pavement with a smile on her face. "What matters is that I'm doing great, and I got a cool magic surfboard to share with my friends." Marco relaxed a bit, feeling a genuine warmth from Jackie and her constant positive attitude. Of all the things that Marco enjoyed most about Jackie, next to her easy-going and open personality, was that smile of hers. She almost never seemed without it, even when she was in the hospital recovering from an arrow wound from a psychopath with a killer doll. It was a truly relieving and relaxing sight to behold. "So, you wanna take a shot?"

"Eh wha?" Marco asked, once again shaking himself out of his confusion.

"Wanna give it a ride, I asked, dude," Jackie said, holding her surfboard out for Marco. "You seriously gotta try it out. It's almost as fun as skateboarding." That statement took Marco completely off guard, considering that Jackie was almost never without her skateboard. If she endorsed messing with physics utilizing this surfboard, then Marco was all cool to go through with it.

"Sure, why not?" he asked with a chuckle, standing up and accepting Jackie's surfboard. He cautiously laid it down on the ground, then placed a single foot on top of it, expecting the board to immediately affect the ground and cart him off like an uncontrollable wave. Much to both his and Jackie's surprise… nothing happened. The board just simply sat there, even with Marco rocking his foot back and forth on the fin. "... Is it broken?" He withdrew his foot for Jackie to inspect. However, when _she_ placed her foot on the board, she had to press down hard to prevent the board from riding off on the suddenly shifting ground.

"Huh, guess it only works for me," Jackie noted, picking her board back up. "Surfin' must be picky." Marco looked at Jackie with a slightly perplexed expression.

"'Surfin'?" he repeated.

"Yeah, Surfin' USA," Jackie said, turning back to Marco. "It's the, uh… name I decided to give the board. Just kinda came to me a few days ago." She brushed a hair out of her eyes and smiled at Marco. "That's totally weird, I know, right?"

Marco laughed and smiled back, "Not the weirdest that's happened. Hey, I wonder if it works with two people?" he wondered, looking at Surfin' with a certain look of interest.

"Why don't we find out?" Jackie suggested, letting her board fall to the ground and jumping atop. The ground instantly curling underneath to form a sandy wave of concrete. She looked back expectantly at Marco, her eyes sparkling. Marco gingerly put one foot, then the other on top of the sea foam green, half expecting it to drop to the ground. Leaning forward slightly, Surfin' slid off the sidewalk out front of the Speedy Mart and onto the blacktop parking lot. Letting out a quiet "Eek!" of surprise, Marco latched onto the back of the surfer girl with one hand and the movie supplies hanging from his wrist with the other. Jackie let out a laugh and leaned forward, sending them hurtling out of the parking lot and onto the streets of the town.

Soon they were weaving past people and obstacles alike, Jackie handled the board with an ease that awed Marco. "Woohoo!" he whooped, letting his hand fly into the air above them. The ground blurred beneath them until all that could be seen was the steady stream of tan and black cement. In front of them, an orange cone blocked off the end of the sidewalk.

"Hold on!" Jacke called back, leaning sharply right down a side street and towards the park. Marco scrabbled to keep a hold on her. Pinwheeling his arms, he caught his balance and grabbed onto her shoulder once more. "Whoa! That was close, dude!" He could only smile at his near fall, completely taken in by the ride.

Tan turned to green as they moved onto the grassy field of the park, narrowly missing some people standing in their way on the sidewalk. Looking back, Marco saw a man who was not tall and a man who was not short. Shrugging, he turned back around to see a few dogs try to give chase as they sped through the grassy area and out the other side of the park and back onto the streets. "Hey, can this thing go over anything?" Marco yelled through the wind.

"Just about, why?" Jackie called back, turning her head to look back at him, her blonde hair flying into her face.

Marco grinned and pointed towards the building coming up in front of them. "Think Surfin' can go up a building?"

A daring sparkle lit her eyes and she leaned forward, sending them full force towards a rapidly approaching one of the taller buildings in Echo Creek. Marco's grip on her shoulders tightened as the distance between them and the wall shortened. Squeezing his eyes shut, he braced for impact. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to the whooping of Jackie. Blinking, he looked around, only to notice that they were not only alive, but sideways and surfing right up the building. The brick red walls had formed a wave just as the road had, allowing them to smoothly surf right up to the top.

Defying the laws of physics to surf across the land was one thing, but defying gravity itself to surf up a building seemed completely crazy. Well, at least it would for any normal person. The shock was a bit lost on Marco and Jackie as they sailed towards the sky, but it couldn't stop their eyes from widening as they reached the top and headed back down the other side, the descent much faster than the ascent. Marco let out a slightly girly scream as they hurtled towards the hazy gray of the sidewalk and street. In a second, they went from sideways to smoothly surfing across the street once more. "That was so crazy, dude!" Jackie laughed, turning her head to look back at Marco once more, only to see his expression twist into one of shock.

"Jackie, LOOK OUT!" Marco shouted, pointing ahead. Jackie whipped her head around, eyes going wide as she, Marco and Surfin' USA were on a head-on collision with a pedestrian. Jackie panicked and tried to pull back on the board to slow down, but their speed was too great, and the teens fell off the board, while the tremendous wave of concrete smashed into the man walking on the street. Jackie rolled onto her side and came to a stop, while Marco smacked face-first into a stop sign, lying there dazed and in pain. "Ow…." Jackie hissed at one of her scraped knees as she sat upright, wincing at the pain before her sight caught up with her. She hastily turned to look towards the pedestrian she almost ran over, but the person seemed fine. The pedestrian, a tall and grizzled man, bent over to pick up a still-lit cigarette on the ground with a low grumble. For some reason, Jackie felt… unnerved by this man she nearly ran into. Could it be his black leather jacket? The slightly torn jeans? The worn and ragged look of his tired face and hair? The semi-dead look in his eyes? Or the bandolier of cigarette boxes strapped across his chest and the two currently lit cigarettes still in his mouth? Could be anything.

"Huh, that was some spill…" the smoking man said, his voice coarse and tired, like worn sandpaper. "You kids alright?" Jackie silently nodded and got to her feet, while Marco was still in a dazed state as he wobbled on his heels. "Shoulda been watching where you were going… then again, so should I. Eh," he shrugged. "The hell do I care?" His tired eyes fell upon Surfin' USA, now once more in Jackie's grip, almost like a faint look of recognition crossing through his mind. "Huh, nice board ya got kid."

"Y-yeah…" Jackie said, nodding. "Listen, dude, I'm sorry I almost ran ya down. This thing is magic and I'm trying to get the hang of using it. I'm just glad I didn't flatten you or anything." Marco shook his head roughly, getting the bits of stars out of his eyes as he finally got his bearings… and then his eyes caught sight of the smoking stranger, a sense of worry crossing his mind.

"Hey, uh… Jackie," Marco said, placing a hand on Jackie's shoulder as he subtly began drawing her further away from the stranger. "We should probably get going. I think Star's probably getting antsy about not knowing where I am and…"

"Hold it." The stranger commanded, puffing a large cloud of smoke from his lips like an idle dragon. "Star… I know that name…" Marco inwardly groaned, hoping this was just an old friend from Mewni and NOT a crazy magic killer like the past few encounters. "Star… Princess Star Butterfly…" He clicked his tongue, the ends of his cigarette flaring up in more smoke. "You two gotta be Jackie Lynn Thomas and Marco Diaz. Guess my lazy luck finally pulled off." Marco was about to bolt, but Jackie took on a determined look and stood her ground.

"I don't know what your beef is with Star, dude," Jackie sternly said. "But if you got anything to do with that dirtbag who stabbed me with an arrow, then I'm gonna kick your butt." The smoking stranger let off a tired chuckle as more smoke began to coalesce over his head.

"An arrow, huh?" he said. "Shoulda figured that wasn't an ordinary surfboard. Guess this means I get to let loose on ya with no regrets." To both Marco's and Jackie's surprise, the smoke from the man's cigarettes seemed to drift behind him, as though it were being controlled by a mind of its own. "I don't think Monstroso would mind a few broken bones… He'll probably say 'Thanks, Cage, now they won't run. Have my box of Zubans as a reward…' Heheh, I like the sound of that." Marco was starting to freak out at the sight of this strange man controlling the smoke from his own cigarettes, but Jackie's eyes widened as she continued to stare. She didn't know how or why, but she could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes watching from the smoke, and the shadowy form of a person inside, moving it around like wet clay. "Well, guess it's time to put the tramps down." The mysterious man, now identified as 'Cage', reached into the pocket of his jacket, and that was ALL the incentive Marco needed to make an escape.

"Jackie, RUN!" He shouted. Jackie immediately snapped out of her stupor, quickly throwing Surfin' USA onto the ground and activating the wave ability.

"Hop on, dude!" Jackie instructed, while Marco wasted no time in hopping behind Jackie and wrapping his arms around her barrel. With a strong turn, Jackie steered Surfin' USA away from Cage and immediately sped down the empty streets, intent on escaping this unusual hitman. Cage just smirked, spitting the three burnt-out cigarettes onto the ground and producing a lighter from his pocket.

"Running is so much effort…" he lazily said, putting three new cigarettes between his lips. "But it does make the chase fun…" As the smoke drifted around him from the new lit cigarettes, his entire body seemed to completely vanish into the smog… save for a pair of golden glowing eyes. "Let's go… **Cigarette Daydreams.** " Upon the command, the smoke crowd lurched forward and vaulted full force towards the escaping teens, speeding along the concrete road like a smoky car ready to mow down any deer foolish enough to stare into its headlights.

Chancing a glance back, Marco's eyes widened as he saw the smoky gray mass moving steadily towards them with no sign of slowing. "Can't this thing go any faster?!" he yelped, whipping back around.

"Marco, dude, Surfin' is doing the best she can!" Jackie yelled, her voice level, but the undertones of fear were clear. Her shoulders were tense and slightly shaking beneath his hands. Taking a deep breath, Marco looked around, desperately grasping at straws. Light struck his eyes and he winced, blinking and shaking his head a few times. "You okay, dude?" she asked, worry leaking into her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He glanced behind them once more to see the cloud gaining on them. "But I have an idea. Remember the building?"

It took a moment for his question to sink in. "Ha! Good idea, Diaz!" she shouted, turning sharply down the street and towards another tall, brick building. Surfin' transitioned smoothly between surfaces and they began speeding once more up towards the wide blue sky, littered with clouds. "Is he still following?" she asked after a few moments.

Risking a glance back, Marco realized that the Cage and his smoke cloud had vanished from sight. "I think we lost him!" he cheered, "Nice job, Jackie!"

Grinning, she slowed as they shifted onto the roof. Setting her foot down, she looked around, looking quite victorious. That was until she noticed the smoky gray cloud rising from one of the many A/C vents atop the building. "No, no, no…" she muttered, placing her foot back onto her board. As she whipped the board around, the hazy smog surged forward as they shot down the building at record speeds. "What do we do, Marco?" she asked, terror setting into both of their systems.

"Head for my house! If we can get to Star, we might have a chance!" Jackie nodded and sped towards the Diaz house without a second glance back. They weaved between buildings until they were on a direct path between houses to their destination. Just a few streets over, their front door could be seen.

Marco stole a glance back at their pursuer. "He's almost on us!" he shouted as a smoky hand reached out, snagging onto the bag of movie supplies still dangling from Marco's arm. It was a true surprise how they had managed to stay intact throughout the whole encounter. Marco freaked, both internally and externally, and let his arm slide out of the bag. Jumping off, he sprinted ahead and opened the door. Jackie sailed in on Surfin' USA, her head just barely being able to fit under the door frame. Just as the ghastly hand reached once more for Jackie, Marco slammed the door and bolted it shut.

As the smoky hand dissipated harmlessly against the door, it faded back into the cloud of smoke, steadily giving way as Cage emerged, looking nonchalant and bored of the whole ordeal. He looked up from the pathway and observed the house, with its unique architecture combining a standard Los Angeles home and some really odd castle turret protruding from the left side. He sighed and put out one of his many cigarettes.

"Yep, this has gotta be the place," he tiredly said. "Those kids led me right to her. Well, guess I can find some way inside…" The smoke began to steadily swirl around him like a shifting vortex of tobacco and ash. "Cage Jameson always gets his man or woman… Even if I have to smoke 'em out…"

* * *

 **Stand Name: Surfin' USA**

 **User: Jackie Lynn Thomas**

 **Appearance:** Manifests as a seven-foot long surfboard, consisting heavily of a seafoam green main body color and sandy seashells decorating the rear. The fin beneath the surfboard is also stylized similar to a seashell.

 **Stats:**

Power - D

Durability - C

Speed - A

Precision - C

Range - D

Learning Potential - C

 **Abilities:** Wave Riding: Surfin' USA has the ability to manipulate any surface beneath itself to shift and move akin to waves on the water, allowing the user to ride atop it as though they were surfing on a liquid wave. Movement with Surfin' USA is a combination of actual surfing and skateboarding, and will function on ANY surface and any material. Affected material beneath will revert to its prior form after Surfin' USA passes away from it in a 5 meter radius.

* * *

 _A_ _uthor's Notes: Yes, as I'm certain you all guessed by the prior chapter, Jackie did INDEED become a Stand User, receiving a cool yet somewhat useless Stand in the process (kinda like how the writers treat Jackie in the actual show - WHAT, WHO SAID THAT?!). And what's this? A new Stand User without any source material to relate with except for a cool Stand name? SHOCK! Still, I've been excited to bring this guy out for a while, and you'll see why in the next chapter. Also, as an aside question: On a scale to 1 to 10, how NOT subtle am I being with the foreshadowing in the news reports? Rhetorical question, answer if you dare. Any-who, next chapter will be up eventually, look forward to seeing you then! Until next time, readers!_

 _Oh, and another thing, special props and thanks to_ Toon the Thane of Scrabble _for not only correctly guessing the name of Jackie's Stand, but also for offering some space advertisement for this story on their own story,_ Butterfly's Bizarre Adventure. _Go give Toon some love and check out their story, which is ALSO a SVTFOE/JJBA crossover story, and a damn good one at that. Thanks again for the advertisement, Toon._

 _Additional note about Surfin' USA and how Star and Marco were able to see it… Jackie's Stand is in the same category as "Normal people can see it" like Baby Face, Thoth and Foo Fighters. So yeah. That's my excuse._

 _And one final note: I would like to proudly state that this chapter, and all chapters henceforth, was co-written by the incredibly talented and brilliant writer, DemonFlash Vasi. Special thanks to her and her work on this, and hope to see more spectacular work from the both of us in the future._


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

" _ **Cigarette Daydreams"**_

* * *

Marco let out large sigh and sank to the floor, leaning against the door. "That was way too close for comfort," he muttered, looking over to Jackie. "Are you okay?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah dude, but what about creepy smoke man out there?" She glanced out the window, then back to Marco, her expression full of worry.

"I don't know, but right now, we need to make sure he can't get in." Marco got to his feet and dusted himself off. "We should barricade the door." They both ran into the living room and started pushing the sofa, very slowly, up against the door. It took them a good 5 minutes, but soon the two had a large stack of furniture and assorted household items thrown against the front door of the house. Panting, they both looked at their creation, Jackie holding Surfin' USA under her arm.

"You think that'll hold him?" she asked, a touch of fear in her voice. "I mean, he almost got us…"

"It'll be okay, we've got Star to help now." He tried to comfort, glancing behind him, wondering exactly where his best friend was. She would usually be pulling some insane magic spell that would turn their feet into turtles, or their hair into spaghetti, but the blonde was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Little did they know, Ms. Butterfly was currently locked away in her room, eyes glued to, you guessed it, a television screen. "We'll be right back with more _'Dance 'Til Tomorrow'_ in a few minutes," announced the show host before cutting to more commercials.

Star groaned in annoyance and started shaking the screen. "Bring it back! Bring me back my _Dance 'Til Tomorrow_! Bring me back Hiyoko! SHE'S AN INSPIRATION WITH HER POINTY HAIR!" she screeched, breathing heavily. "I don't want your commercials!" Letting out another groan of annoyance, she flopped onto her back, muttering under her breath. "I wish I knew some sort of fast-forwarding spell… then I would never have to wait! Oh! I should get some snacks!" Rolling to her feet, she raced down the hall to the stairs and slid down the railing. "Woohoo!" she whooped, jumping off at the end and seeing Marco and Jackie studying their barricade. "Oh right, Marco was buying snacks, duh." Sauntering over, she stood behind them. "Marcooooo! You're back! Did you get those chips?" she asked, her voice far too loud for such close conversation.

The two friends whipped around, eyes wide in surprise. "Star! There you are! There's this crazy smoke guy outside! He's been chasing us around town!" Marco exclaimed, almost yelling, in Star's face.

"Yeah, he's wicked crazy, and smokes way too many cigarettes." Jackie added.

The Mewman girl gave Jackie a glance before returning her gaze to Marco. "Yeah, but did you get the chips? I'm right in the middle of this _Dance 'Til Tomorrow_ marathon and I need them fast before the evil commercials retreat," Star relayed, quite rapidly and with wild gestures. When Marco just gave her a blank stare, her smile dropped. "You did get the chips, right Marco? I mean, you got the surfboard. Wait, oooo," Her attention immediately turned to Surfin' USA. "I think I was supposed to do something important about that…"

Marco shook his head at Star's antics. "Star! We can get more chips later! Right now we gotta focus on this smoke guy." He gestured at the barricaded front door.

"More chips later? Marco! Come on, this is _Dance 'Til_ _Tomorrow_! And believe me, there isn't any dancing tomorrow. I need those chips now." The blonde Mewman had a crazed look in her eyes, a strong wanting for a snack food to last her through the marathon.

A sigh was drawn out from Jackie. "Look, Star, we get it, dude, you really want your chips."

Star cut her off. "No, Jackie, I don't think you do get it… but I can show you! Here, you should come watch it with me!" Her tone changed completely, once again full of her usual pep. Bouncing forward, she grabbed Jackie by the arm. "It's so fun, you'll love it! Grab your surfboard and let's go!"

Jackie let out a small squeak of surprise. "Star! This isn't a time for games, dude! There's a super scary guy out there!"

"And he'll still be there when we finish! Now come on, you can tell me all about your cool new board." Her voice was smooth like butter as she reached for Surfin' USA. Jackie jerked her hand back, taking Surfin' USA right along with it. A frown appeared on her face.

Growling in frustration, Marco grabbed Jackie by the shoulder and pulled her back, taking Star with her. "I'm serious Star! This guy might not go away, and he will come in here. We need to deal with this guy, and fast!" He glanced back quickly to make sure the barricade still held. "If that guy breaks in, you won't have a TV to watch _Dance 'Til Tomorrow_ on."

"Marco, Marco, Marco. You worry too much! He can't be _that_ hard to beat. It's probably just some small fry. I mean, I take care of Ludo and his goonies all the time. Plus I took down Toffee. I can handle whoever this smoke guy is, easy peasy lemon squeezy." She waved the problem away with a hand. "Now, back to other more important matters. Jackie, your board, how does it work? Like, is it alien technology? Or maybe magic?" Star questioned, making accompanying hand gestures.

At this point, both Marco and Jackie looked thoroughly annoyed with their friend. "Star, stop fooling around! I'm being dead serious here. This guy almost killed us on the way here! The only reason we survived is because of Jackie's board!"

"Marco, don't be so dramatic. A surfboard can't be that useful! Unless it can shoot narwhals, then I guess it's pretty useful. Wait, can it shoot narwhals?" She looked back and forth rapidly at Marco and Jackie before a strange smell hit her nose. "Does anyone smell that?" she asked. Marco was about to interject, but Jackie stepped in and sniffed as well.

"Yeah, dude, it smells kind of like…" Jackie started to say, her green eyes going wide in realization. "Something's burning." The trio immediately sprinted towards the kitchen, where the source of the burning smell was coming from. They gasped in shock, seeing an entire roll of paper towels up in flames, smoke trailing from the fire and flowing out through the partially opened window and clouding up the ceiling in a grey haze.

"FIRE! FIRE!" Marco shouted, hastily running to the sink and turning on the faucet and filling a bucket with water. Jackie held Surfin' USA over head and attempted to fan out the flames, but to little avail. Star's eyes darted between Marco, Jackie and the fire rapidly, still panicked and confused as to what was going on and what the two were so spooked about. As the fires flared up from Jackie's fanning, Star acted, drawing her wand out and aiming it at the burning papers.

"Fluffy Foam Bubble Blast!" she cried, casting a spell as a burst of fire extinguisher foam erupted from the star, snuffing out the fire, coating the stove and halfway burying everyone in the kitchen up to their waists in gunk. The smoke still coalesced on the ceiling, but Marco hastily slammed the window shut to keep it and their smoking attacker out. With a relieved sigh, Marco turned off the faucet and started pushing the foam out of the way so he could move freely in the kitchen.

"Nice save, Star," Marco praised in relief. "How the heck did that fire start, anyway?" Jackie wiped some of the foam off the partially roasted paper roll, and found the culprit.

"Who do you think, dude?" Jackie worriedly asked, holding up the slightly smouldering end of a finished cigarette butt. Marco visibly paled at the implications, realizing that Cage must have flicked the cigarette into the kitchen to intentionally start a fire. "I don't know what that guy's beef is with us or Star, but he's completely nuts!"

"OKAY, TIME OUT!" Star shouted, wildly waving her arms about, a clearly irritated look upon her face. Jackie and Marco turned to Star in complete surprise at this sudden outburst. "Ever since you two got here and barricaded the dang door, neither one of you has explained what's going on, why you're so scared, who started that fire, and most importantly, what happened to those chips, Marco?!" Marco slapped the palm of his hand to his face, realizing he left the bag of snacks back when they first crashed into Cage. "So… Somebody gonna tell their girl Star what's going on?" Marco was about to give some semblance of an answer, but the air suddenly grew a bit thicker, and the young man broke into a fit of coughs.

"Um, isn't smoke supposed to dissipate after a minute or something?" Jackie worriedly asked, looking up at the ceiling. Star and Marco joined Jackie's stares and saw, in shock, that not only had the smoke not cleared away, but it seemed to have grown thicker and consumed nearly the entire ceiling. And amidst it all, a dark shadow began to emerge from the smog, reaching out from the thick haze.

"FREAK HAND!" Star exclaimed as she, Marco and Jackie backed out of the kitchen with frightened looks on their faces. The dark shadow burst forth from the smoke, landing down upon the kitchen floor with ease as three wisps of tobacco smoke wafted from his mouth. Cage surveyed the area briefly, puffing forth a cloud of smoke as the smog covering the ceiling began to form behind him like a writhing pillar. When he spotted Star and the wand in her hands, a faint smile crossed his face as he spat out one of the used cigarette butts from his mouth.

"Jackpot," he coarsely said. Jackie sprinted towards Cage with Surfin' USA raised overhead like a makeshift weapon, but was instead hit full-force with a pillar of smoke, sending her flying into the living room and smack into the wall, dropping her surfboard in the process and falling unconscious.

"Jackie!" Marco and Star cried out, their voices devolving into coughing as the air seemed to grow thicker. Cage was lazily turning on the kitchen stove and burners, the smoke coalescing behind him moving and flowing as though it had a mind of its own. Enraged, Marco grabbed a golf club from a nearby bag and brandished it like a sword. He swung it towards Cage, who lazily dodged the attack as he haphazardly tossed napkins on the flaming burners. Marco continued wildly swinging his golf club, a blinding fury rushing through his very being to protect his friends, but it was all for naught as the smoker mercenary continued to bob and weave through his blows. Star snapped out of her frightened stupor and aimed her wand directly at Cage, but with Marco in the way, she couldn't get a remotely clear shot.

"Gah, Marco, move your head!" Star snapped, only to break into coughing once more as more of the smoke filled the house. With a tired groan, Cage swung a fist, striking Marco in the stomach and sending him tumbling backwards on the ground. Star yelped in surprise, once more taking aim with her wand. Her eyes stung from the smoke filling the room, while Marco moaned in pain from the blow, but in her stinging gaze, she could see that there was something definitely wrong about the way the smoke moved. She was familiar with various smoke or mist-like creatures in her travels, one of her spells summoned a talking cloud, to boot! They had their own way of moving as though they were actual creatures, but this smoke that was under Cage's thrall, it didn't have that sentience like Cloudy or the mist-men, but rather it looked as though it were being _molded_ , guided about like wet clay on a river. Like something was moving it with its bare hands. That was when Star saw it.

She didn't know why she didn't see it before, but Cage Jameson wasn't alone when he started attacking her and her friends. Standing directly behind him, amidst the oddly shifting smoke, was an unusual muscular humanoid creature. Its body was striped black and white, akin to that of a zebra, adorned in only a solid black spandex, with strange metal rings wrapped around its fingers. Metal pipes sprouted from its back, belching smoke as though the creature were a living vehicle. But above all else was its incredibly unusual head, a bald pink thing with a face that seemed to be constantly rearranging itself. The eyes, mouth, nose and ears all seemed slanted at unnatural angles, shifting about like leaves on a pink pond and moving of their own accord. Whatever it was, it creeped Star out, but what concerned her more was the fact this strange being was manipulating the smoke around Cage like a sculptor with wet clay! That was the secret of Cage's smoke abilities… but what in the world was it, and why did it seem so familiar?

Star recoiled at the sight of the smoke manipulator. "What is that... that... that THING?!" she shrieked, her eyes glued to its shifting face. Cage and his odd company turned towards Star with tired confusion on his face. After glancing back over his shoulder at his companion, he spat another cigarette out onto the floor and chuckled.

"Well, this wasn't expected at all," he lazily said, rolling his head to the side. "Guess it wasn't in the dossier that I never read that the Magic Princess could see our talents… Makes things a lot more interesting." The striped humanoid balled up the smoke in a tightly packed compact sphere, no bigger than a basketball. Cage raised one hand while the other put two cigarettes against his lips. " **Cigarette Daydreams** ," he snapped his fingers with an echoing click. "Smoke 'em out." At the command, the shifting-faced being hurled the smoke-ball on the ground at Star's feet, exploding it like a bomb as the living room and kitchen flooded with smog. Star's eyes burned as she and Marco broke into coughing fits as the dense smoke invaded their lungs.

Struggling to catch her breath, Star raised her wand and weakly shouted, "Breezy Breathe-y Bubble Mask!" And a clear bubble of clean air surrounded the three teens' heads, giving them fresh air to breathe, rather than continue choking on the smog that had already covered the lower level of the house. "Marco!" she called out, sprinting towards him and Jackie. "Grab Jackie, come on!" Running up the stairs, she spared a glance back to see if Marco was following behind her. Smog had already begun to reach the second floor, making it even harder to see. "Marco?"

"I'm-" A cough interrupted his response. The smoke was thickening, increasing the deadliness of the situation. "I'm fine, but this smoke is gonna kill us if we-" Another cough broke his sentence. "Don't get rid of that guy and get some help!"

Star continued up the steps, worry and tears brimming in her eyes. The burn of the smoke in her lungs was building by the second. Collapsing into her room, Marco was close behind. He hurried to the bed and laid Jackie down before sliding to the floor in a fit of coughs. "Star, what are we gonna do? We can't beat this guy, he's too powerful!" Star hastily slammed the door behind her, holding the intruder at bay as best she could.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'M THINKING!" Sweat ran down Star's forehead in cascades as the smell of smoke still invaded her senses. Her eyes rapidly darted about the room in search of something, ANYTHING that could remotely keep Cage and his ghostly friend from smoking them out. "A-HA!" Star's eyes widened as she hastily dove towards her curtains, violently tearing them off from the window and carting them back to the door. She quickly knelt down and stuffed the fabric into every nook and gap between her, the door, and the veritable smoke monster out to kill them. Once the door was lined and blocked with purple drapes, Star collapsed on the floor with a relieved sigh and a wipe of her forehead… yet why did she still smell smoke?

"STAR, THE VENT!" Marco exclaimed, pointing towards the ventilation grate just over the bathroom doorway. Star yelped and sprang to her feet, wand at the ready to seal up the grate with a foam or ice spell or something of use. While standing less than two feet away from the grate, a plume of smoke belched from the grate, slamming into Star and smashing her against the wall. Star grunted and coughed, squirming about as she tried to escape the smoke's hold, but the striped creature known as Cigarette Daydreams emerged from the noxious cloud, clutching tightly onto Star's neck. Marco shakily attempted to rise, but a blast of smoke forced him into another coughing fit. Cage fully emerged from the smog, clutching a combat knife in his hand as he steadily stalked towards Star, four lit cigarettes trailing wisps from his mouth that fed the cloud of soot and ash behind him.

"End of the line, Princess," Cage said. Star squirmed and struggled in Cigarette Daydream's grasp, trying to break free of its hold, but her hands just seemed to pass through the zebra-striped body like mist. Cage slowly held up his knife; Star saw her pupils shrink down to pinpricks in the blade's reflection. "Monstroso wants that wand, and whatever that man wants, he gets…" She flinched when Cage surged forward briefly, the smell of tobacco and smoke was repugnant at this point. Marco barely struggled to get to his feet, Jackie was knocked out cold, and Star was close to getting murdered for the third time this month. And the worst of it all had just hit Star's mind.

"I FORGOT TO HIT 'RECORD' ON THE TV!"

Star's cries were drowned out by another louder, far more powerful sound: glass shattering. Marco, Star, even Cage all turned to the sight and sound of Star's massive window completely shattering from a powerful force. A shadow cast over the group, a glimmering light of silver and black overshadowed them all and peppered the floor like dainty snowflakes. In that moment, all time had halted, and all eyes were on the figure leaping through the shattered window. Not a sound was to be heard amongst the deafening silence except for a single proclamation.

"DOOOOORA!" It was fast, faster than anyone could have perceived, but a silver SOMETHING shot forth from the window and smashed into Cage's face. His eyes widened, and a noticeable dent formed on the shifting cheek of Cigarette Daydreams, as the two were suddenly blasted through the air, crashing directly into a wall. Star was violently flung free from Cage's grasp, hurled towards her bed and joined Marco and Jackie in safety. Cage slumped to the ground, a dazed look in his eyes as his cigarettes fell one by one out of his mouth and onto the floor, smothered from the blow, as Cigarette Daydreams simply faded away with the vanishing smoke. They couldn't believe their eyes; some random twist of fate had prevented them from falling face-first onto death's doormat. It was like Scaramouche all over again. Slowly, they craned their heads towards their savior with awestruck eyes.

Standing amongst the broken glass scattered on the floor was a strapping young man, wearing a deep purple school uniform from overseas, opened up to expose a yellow shirt concealing a broad, muscular chest, and marked with two unique golden pins of a heart and a peace sign. His face bore heavy resolve in his steely blue eyes, a look that said "I'm a good guy, but I can still beat you down", but most notably of all, was his hairstyle. Such a style it was, one of uniqueness and flair, one that had not been seen for well on fifty years, and yet still held a tremendous sense of power and beauty to it. And this strange young man just happened to burst through the window to save Star, Marco, and Jackie from certain death at the hands of a smoke-manipulating slothful lunatic.

Star leaned over to Marco's side and whispered in his ear. "Is it just me, or did someone leave a slice of roast beef on that guy's head." Their savior overheard Star's little comment… and looked as though he had snapped, with eyes aflame with rage and teeth clenched in fury.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY HAIR?!" A blur of silver rushed towards Star's face… and everything went black.

* * *

 **Stand Name: Cigarette Daydreams**

 **User: Cage Jameson**

 **Appearance:** Manifests as a humanoid creature with a pink Picasso-like face (eyes, nose and mouth are warped and distorted) and a zebra-striped body. Six large metal exhaust pipes are sprouted from its back that constantly have smoke trailing from them.

 **Stats:**

Power - B

Durability - C

Speed - C

Precision - B

Range - A

Learning Potential - D

 **Abilities:** Smoke creation and manipulation: Allows the User to completely vanish in clouds of smoke, as well as generate smoke clouds via pipes coming from the Stand's back. The User can either become completely invisible in the smoke, or teleport to another smoke cloud elsewhere within a fifty-meter radius.

Added bonus: makes the User immune to lung and eye damage to smoke

* * *

 _Author's Notes (Mal Masque): HOOH-GOOD LORD DID THIS TAKE LONGER THAN IT NEEDED TO BE! Sorry about the long wait folks, turns out real life can be a massive bitch from time to time, what with moving and getting a new job and all that. Ah well, finally after TWO MONTHS of totally not procrastinating, here we have the latest chapter of Shining Stars, featuring… well, you already know what it features, ya just read it, ya ding-dongs. Anyway, glad we could get this chapter out, and introduce a certain beloved face and hairstyle. Now we can kick it into high gear and get this turbo-wagon rolling! As always, leave a review below, ask any questions you like via PMs, and we will see you wonderful people all next time on the next chapter!_

 _Supplemental Notice: If the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo anime trailer comes out before the release of the next chapter, you all have permission to call me a procrastinating doof._

* * *

 _Author's Notes (Vasi): Ummmm, yes, this is a very official note. This definitely took a long-ass time to write. Still hasn't broken my record for how long it's taken me to write some things… I hope you guys enjoy this, since we actually put effort into it (like usual). Sorry for taking so long, but life is life, so deal with it. Yeah, that's about it. Thanks for reading!_


	9. Attention Readers

_Attention Readers!_

Hello everyone, Mal Masque here, and have a minor announcement to make. I apologize for the lengthy delay in the latest update of Shining Stars, but unfortunately the delay will be continuing, due to technical difficulties on part of personal problems regarding both myself and my co-writer, as well as recent updates regarding the show itself throwing the initial plan out of whack. Re-writes from the ground up certainly are fun, aren't they? It is unknown when the next chapter will come but know that it hopefully will be out sometime this year. For now, I am pleased to announce that I am currently working on another _Star Vs. The Forces of Evil_ project in the meantime to tide you over: The World That Always Was. Keep your eye out in the future for this upcoming tale of epic adventure, strife, and a legend brought to life. Once again, I apologize for announcing the delay, but updates will come along the way. Until next time, dear readers, this is Mal Masque, signing off!

* * *

 _Thought for the Day:_ "We are as pollen on the wind, blowing across the lands to find ourselves a new place to create fields of flowers of our own."


End file.
